


Why Don't You Stay

by fridaysblues (taemin)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Age Changes, Alternate Universe - Orphanage, Cute Kids, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-06
Updated: 2014-09-06
Packaged: 2018-03-16 17:24:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 20,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3496628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taemin/pseuds/fridaysblues
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Baekhyun's happy with his part-time job at the orphanage until he meets a mysterious dancer on the street and everything in his life changes all at once.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Baekhyun, we need to talk."

Baekhyun's been home from work for maybe fifteen minutes when Jongdae manages to corner him in the kitchen. Baekhyun's been dealing with shrieking children all morning and even though today's a Wednesday, which means a short work day for him, he still just wants five minutes of peace and quiet before someone gets up in his space like this.

"You need a hug or something?" he jokes. "Fine, Jongdae, as long as you don't mind that I smell like—"

"Yeah, I know what you smell like." Jongdae points at a faint white patch of baby vomit leftover from helping out in the nursery earlier. "You're the coolest person I know."

"Dammit. I thought I got it all." Baekhyun pushes past Jongdae to the sink and runs a sponge under the tap. "So, what's up?" he asks, dabbing at the spot.

"I need to show you something," Jongdae begins, smiling nervously. His hands are hidden behind his back and he looks shifty, like he's about to do something wrong. Baekhyun's seen that expression on his face a couple times before—most notably the time that Jongdae had accidentally thrown the remote through the television screen during a particularly frustrating football match, shattering it completely. He steels himself for the worst. He sets the sponge down on the counter slowly.

"If it's your dick," he teases, "I've already seen it, and it's nice, but I've seen bigger."

To his credit, Jongdae's been friends with Baekhyun long enough that he doesn't even bat an eyelash. "It's not my dick," he says, completely serious. "I need you to stop being Baekhyun for like, thirty seconds and just be my best friend."

"You _did_ break the TV again, didn't you?"

"No. The TV's fine." Jongdae draws his hands from behind his back. They're trembling slightly and cupped, almost the way you'd hold a baby bird.

Baekhyun sees it then: a pair of thin gold bands tucked in a black velvet clamshell box, twinkling brightly in the dip of Jongdae's palm. "Aw, Jongdae. You shouldn't have. You haven't even asked my parents yet."

The box snaps shut. "Cute," Jongdae says. "Seriously. I'm going to ask her tonight."

"Let me see it again? You were waving it in front of my face the first time around." Baekhyun extends his hand. Very reluctantly, Jongdae hands the box over and stands, hands clasped in front of his chest. Baekhyun cracks the box open and peers inside. They're nice rings—simple, unadorned, although they probably cost a few months of Jongdae's salary. Perfectly suited to Liyin's taste. She's going to love them.

And of course she'll say yes. A proposal seems almost a formality at this point. Jongdae and Liyin were the type of couple who finished each other's sentences and never, ever went anywhere without each other if they could possibly help it. Completely compatible in every way. She'd practically moved in on the second date and the rest was ancient history. Baekhyun's only surprised that it's taken Jongdae this long to propose.

"Congrats, man. That's great," Baekhyun says honestly, returning the rings. "I'm really happy for you. Liyin's awesome. I like her more than I like you, sometimes."

Jongdae nods, clearly pleased. He's so excited he even lets the dig go past without comment. "Listen, though," he says, expression sobering. "We've gotta talk about you—"

The front door rattles then, startling them both. Liyin's home, fumbling with her keys in the lock. Jongdae stuffs the ring box in his pocket and backs away, finger to his lips.

"Later," he says, and then turns just in time to greet her. Baekhyun goes back to cleaning his sweater, listening to the happy chatter of a couple in love reunited after a long day at work.

 

 

He finally gets the chance to process it later, after his shower, lying face-first on his bed. The sheets are freshly laundered—God bless Liyin—and he realizes for the first time what their marriage will mean. More specifically, what their marriage will mean for _him_. This is the conversation Jongdae wants to have with him.

Baekhyun's lived with Jongdae since university. Same two-bedroom apartment just off the main drag in Sanggye. Modest accommodations, but much nicer than anything else for a comparable price. And Baekhyun really likes it here. He's within walking distance of his part-time job at the Sanggye orphanage, two subway stops from his brother's apartment. He doesn't want to have to find a new apartment, especially not on his salary. There's no way he could afford living alone with what he makes, and he loves his job too much to even think about getting a new one.

His phone buzzes under his pillow. He pulls it out. It's a KKT message from Minseok: _Sehun won't go to bed unless you tell him goodnight._

 _Go to sleep, brat ^^_ Baekhyun types back, then rolls over.

 

—

 

Jongdae catches him the next morning on his way out, fingers working at the knot in his tie, trying to make it perfect. He watches Baekhyun over his reflection in the hall mirror as Baekhyun bustles past, mouth still full of toothpaste as he struggles to pull on a sock.

"So, about this engagement thing."

"Oh, right. That was last night. How'd it go? She said no, didn't she. Sorry, buddy, we were going to tell you about our affair, and it just got out of hand—"

"Of course she said yes, Baekhyun, _shut up_. She's got better taste than that."

Baekhyun gives Jongdae a meaningful look, surveying him from head to toe.

"Oh, fuck you," Jongdae says when he catches on to what Baekhyun's doing. He unties his tie angrily and starts over. "Yes, she said yes. I might even make you my best man."

" _Might?_ I'm your best friend."

"Jury's still out on that one. Anyway. About the apartment."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about it," says Baekhyun, disappearing into the bathroom to spit in the sink. "And I don't think you guys should have a kid right away. It's not a good time for me, what with work and everything."

Jongdae snorts. "We'll be sure to run it by you. Look, Liyin and I were talking about it, and we're going to stay here until after we're married."

Baekhyun pauses. "And after?"

"I'm making enough. She's just been promoted. We'll look for a house."

"I don't have to move!" Baekhyun rejoices, pumping his fist in an exaggerated demonstration of his enthusiasm. "Best wedding gift you could give me."

"You're supposed to give _us_ gifts," Jongdae reminds him, laughing. "But fine. You're welcome." He comes and stands in the doorway, tie in a pristine knot at his throat. Baekhyun feels a little lost sometimes when he looks at Jongdae in a suit, remembering when his wardrobe consisted entirely of oversized t-shirts and snapbacks. Then again, college was a long time ago. They've grown up now.

Well, sort of. Baekhyun's still got the oversized shirts in his dresser.

Jongdae's still talking when Baekhyun tunes back in. "Do you think you can handle placing ads in the paper?"

"Ads?" Baekhyun wrinkles his nose. "For what?"

"For a new roommate. Unless you've been holding out on me and you're able to afford the rent for this place by yourself?"

"I can handle it," Baekhyun says, checking his watch. He's got fifteen minutes to get to the orphanage. Junmyeon always takes care of breakfast preparations, but it's his turn to do the dishes—and with a dozen mouths to feed, there's always a lot of them.

"Start asking around!" Jongdae reminds him. "Maybe one of your friends is looking for a new place to stay."

"Yes, mother," Baekhyun says, planting a wet kiss on Jongdae's cheek as he passes by. Jongdae grimaces and scrubs at it with the heel of his hand.

"Gross. Come on, I've got to go to work like this. I don't want to smell like toothpaste."

"Tell them Liyin did it," Baekhyun says, eyes crinkling into a tight smile. "Staying late tonight. See you when I see you."

 

—

 

On easy days, when Baekhyun isn't due in until ten o'clock, he always leaves the apartment early enough to take the long way to work—through the nice new residential streets and past the playground in the park. This isn't an easy morning though. When Baekhyun's running this late, he always takes the subway to Exit 3 and cuts through the arts district to the orphanage, tucked away from the busy shopping center on a meandering side street.

There's a crowd blocking the exit when Baekhyun finally surfaces from underground and loud rap music coming from somewhere nearby. Hooting cheers and applause erupt just as Baekhyun hits the jam of pedestrians. He stands on a step halfway up and waits, impatiently, for the onlookers to disperse enough for him to weasel his way through. Whatever it was seems to have just finished.

The sidewalk's still congested with foot traffic, though, and Baekhyun's only just managed to break free of the worst of it when he sees him: a flash of dark eyes, full lips, a lopsided grin, cheeks pink with laughter. _Shit,_ Baekhyun thinks. _He's really hot._

They talk about this in the movies a lot. That moment you just sort of _know_. Everything sort of slows down for half a second, long enough for Baekhyun's chest to squeeze tightly, heart pounding with anticipation, ready for something to begin. _I need to know you,_ Baekhyun thinks, trying to keep his eyes on him.

The stranger pulls his hood up and pushes through, shoulders hunched, and the feeling's gone. The streets are bustling with hundreds of shoppers, pedestrians—people going about their day, engrossed in a thousand conversations. Nobody notices Baekhyun trailing behind Hot Guy. Nobody notices him switch directions away from the orphanage to follow Hot Guy up a wide set of concrete steps and into an old brick building. Baekhyun doesn't even know what he's doing—he's going to be late for work, but his feet are moving on their own, propelled by some weird sort of magnetism, although he realizes he looks pretty fucking crazy, and he doesn't have any idea what he'll do if he actually catches up to Hot Guy. Still, he can't stop now.

Baekhyun hangs back just far enough that his presence could be explained by something else that doesn't have anything to do with stalking or generally being a creep. There's a heavy brass plaque mounted next to the door that reads _Nowon Academy of Dance_ in script, a handful of stragglers sitting on the steps, smoking cigarettes and listening to their mp3 players. He walks past them and pulls open the heavy door, follows the sound of booming music to a large, open dance studio filled with a dozen dancers moving in sync to an R &B track with a heavy bass line that Baekhyun vaguely recognizes it from the radio but can't put a name to it.

He sees him then: at the front of the room leading the group, shoulders bare, body already gleaming with sweat. Sways his hips with the beat, pushes his hands out in front of him and catches Baekhyun's gaze in the mirror, holding it, eyes smoldering with intensity. The corner of his mouth—just one—lifts. A smirk. It's so devastatingly sexy Baekhyun nearly blushes, and he hasn't blushed in years. He backs away, feeling the red burn of self-consciousness right to the tips of his ears, and leaves without speaking to anyone.

 

—

 

He is, predictably, very late to work. The kids have already finished their meal and are in the middle of their first hour of lessons when Baekhyun finally shows up, winded and damp with perspiration after sprinting all the way from the Academy.

Hyerim's there waiting for him, up to her elbows in soap suds, when he swings around the corner of the kitchen's door and drops his backpack in the walkway.

"Sorry! Sorry, subway was packed," he lies smoothly, hoping she won't pursue the line of questioning. He doesn't want to talk about where he's really been.

Hyerim looks up and brushes a strand of hair out of her face with the back of her hand. "A likely story," she says, grinning. There isn't any heat in her words. "You knew you were on dish duty this morning."

"Are you accusing me of being late on purpose? You know it's my very favorite chore," Baekhyun teases, pulling on a pair of bright yellow rubber gloves. He flexes his fingers. The gloves squeak with the movement. She pushes a dripping plate into his hands.

"You can dry, then," she says. "I'm almost finished now. Then I think Junmyeon can use you in the playroom."

"I don't know if I like the sound of that," Baekhyun says, scrubbing at the plate with a dry rag. Hyerim elbows him, water sloshing over the edge of the sink in her haste.

"Hey. Byun Baekhyun. You're not nearly as cute as you think you are—"

"I know. I'm cuter." He makes a v with his index finger and thumb and frames his chin, beaming.

She rolls her eyes, chuckling. "Sometimes I think you're so good with the kids because you _are_ one." She puts the last dish on the side next to the others for him to dry. "I'll let Junmyeon know you've finally arrived. Don't be long, okay?"

Baekhyun dries the dishes in record time and meets Junmyeon in the back playroom. He's on his hands and knees scrubbing the floor when Baekhyun comes in and looks up, smiling.

"So how late did you sleep past your alarm?" Junmyeon asks, sitting back on his haunches. He brushes sweat off his forehead with the curve of his wrist. "Be honest."

"I woke up on time, hyung," Baekhyun says, and at least _that's_ honest. Junmyeon studies his face for a minute longer.

"Something's up, though. You look—different."

"I feel fine." Baekhyun grabs the mop handle and hoists it out of the bucket, sending a cascade of soapy water across the playroom floor. Junmyeon leaps to his feet and out of the way just in time.

"I didn't say you looked _sick_. You look happier than usual. Maybe a little guilty, too, although I hope that's because you were late and not because you've done something terrible."

Baekhyun laughs nervously and deflects with, "My roommate proposed to his girlfriend." The mop slaps wetly against the linoleum. "So he's moving out and I've got to find a new roommate. Do you know anyone who's looking for a place, hyung?"

Junmyeon looks pleased. "Jongdae? Really." He taps his chin. "Not really. I don't spend a lot of time with anyone who doesn't work for me, though. Maybe you'll have better luck with Minseok."

Baekhyun nods. "Yeah, I'll try him next, I guess."

Baekhyun's been working at the Nowon Children's Orphanage since his senior year of college. It had started as fulfillment of his community service requirement, teaching music lessons once a week to the kids, but it turned out he had a knack for the job and stayed on after graduation in lieu of getting a full-time teaching job. Junmyeon had hired him on as a part-time assistant four days a week. He couldn't afford anything more permanent.

Junmyeon and his wife, Hyerim live in the facility full-time, and the three part-time staff members cycle through as needed. It's not ideal, but Junmyeon can't afford to pay three full-time salaries, and Baekhyun's not willing to quit his job and leave the kids. He makes enough money to split the rent with Jongdae, and it leaves him with enough spare time to work on his music. Not that he's felt the inclination to sing recently.

"Have you considered going back to school to get your degree in social work?" Junmyeon asks, breaking the silence. "You know, like Kyungsoo's doing?"

Baekhyun shrugs. "Would you hire me on full-time if I did?"

Junmyeon sprays a cleaning solution on the long table at the front of the room and wipes it down with an old rag. "Baekhyun. You know I would if I could."

"I'm happy being here," Baekhyun says, wringing the mop over the bucket of dirty water.

"You know I appreciate having you around, and the kids do too," Junmyeon begins. "But—"

"But what?"

"I hardly pay you anything. You know you could afford that apartment by yourself if you worked somewhere else. And you're here all the time," Junmyeon says, stopping his frantic scrubbing of the marked-up table to give Baekhyun a hard look. "Have you been going out after work? Meeting people? Dating?"

"Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"No, no," Junmyeon assures him. "Nothing like that."

Baekhyun scoffs and slaps the wet mop against the floor. Droplets spray over his sneakers. "Thank you for the concern, hyung, but really, I'm fine."

"Think about it, though," Junmyeon insists. "Hyerim doesn't like that you go home alone every night."

"Is she offering?" Baekhyun teases. Junmyeon shoots him a warning look, but drops the subject.

 

—

 

After lunch, Baekhyun and Minseok take the older kids to the playground while Kyungsoo and Hyerim stay behind with the babies. Baekhyun loves the trips to the playground. Minseok usually doesn't approve when Baekhyun gets on the rides with the kids, but Baekhyun keeps insisting that's the whole point—play with them, get down to their level. Really, he just likes the swings.

Still, he doesn't abandon Minseok right away. Sehun, an excitable six-year-old, and secretly Baekhyun's favorite, climbs up the slide and turns around to swing his feet off the ladder, effectively preventing the rest of the kids from taking a turn.

"Oppa!" Daeun, also six, protests to Minseok, eyes already getting watery. She's usually not this much of a crier, but Sehun's at the age where he's started to pick on the girls, especially the ones he likes, and he hasn't spared Daeun for a single second. "Sehun's not taking turns."

Minseok's at the swing set on the opposite side of the playground. He flashes a tight, patient smile to Baekhyun: _You handle this_ , it says. Baekhyun's on it, even though peacekeeper was never his favorite role to play. He doesn't like taking something away from any of them. He's the fun one, not a stickler for rules like Minseok or Junmyeon.

Sehun gets to his feet and shades his eyes, scanning the width of the playground with a critical frown. "I'm a look-out!" he yells. "This is my pirate ship. It's not safe up here, Daeun!"

Baekhyun puts his hand on Sehun's ankle, gently, so as not to startle him. "Sehun," he says, "let's give Daeun a turn up in the crow's nest, okay?"

"But—"

"Sehun," Baekhyun says, more firmly this time. "I can take you back right now. We can go home and read a book, instead, if that's what you'd prefer."

Sehun makes a face, fingers pulling down the corners of his mouth to exaggerate his frown. "Hyung," he whines, voice muffled. "How am I supposed to be a pirate on the ground?"

"You'll figure it out." Baekhyun holds out his hands and motions for Sehun to take a trip down the slide.

Sehun scoots down, slowly, feet braced against the edges just to make it last a little longer. By the time he reaches the ground, Daeun's already halfway up the ladder, little hands scrambling to climb to the top. Sehun runs off and Baekhyun trails over to the swing set to stand next to Minseok.

"Crisis averted," he says. "Everything's under control."

Minseok snorts inelegantly. "Last night he got it into his head that his bed was a rowboat and needed to bring it into shore before he could sleep. He's such a bad influence on the other kids. Bedtime was an hour late because of him."

Baekhyun cringes, thinking of how cranky they usually were in the mornings, even after getting a full night's rest, and pats Minseok on the shoulder. "Say, hyung."

"Say what?" Minseok eyes him suspiciously and steps away from the touch. "I'm not staying late for you tonight, if that's what you're going to ask. Not after last night."

"I'm hurt." Baekhyun feigns disappointment, clutching at his chest until Minseok punches him in the bicep with his knuckles.

"You are not. Out with it. What do you need?"

"Need? What makes you think I need anything?"

" _Baekhyun._ "

"Jongdae's getting engaged, so he's going to be moving out as soon as he's married, and I was wondering if you were looking for a new place to live?"

"You want to live with _me_?" Minseok splutters, eyes wide. "Baekhyun. Really."

"Sure! Why not!" Baekhyun shrugs. "It could be fun. We could walk to work together."

"No. Sorry, but no," Minseok says firmly, crossing his hands in an x in front of his chest to emphasize his point. "When I go home, I want to have adult conversations with people I haven't seen all day—"

"How adult are we talking? Because—"

" _No,_ Baekhyun."

Baekhyun sighs heavily. He'd expected as much, but still feels disappointed that it's going to take some effort in order to solve this particular problem. "Damn. I think it's going to be harder than I thought to find a roommate," he laments, putting his hand over his eyes. "Why is this happening to me?"

"Why don't you put an ad in the newspaper?" Minseok suggests. Across the playground, Daeun calls his name again and waves with both hands as she slips down the slide. He throws her two thumbs up and yells, "So brave, Daeun-ah! Can you show me again?"

"No, I can't do that. It's like inviting a serial killer into my home."

"You don't _have_ to let them live with you just because they answer your ad, you know."

Baekhyun shakes his head. "Still, I don't like the idea of living with some random stranger."

"Did you ask Junmyeon?"

"Yeah, he was no help. Maybe Kyungsoo, though," Baekhyun says, even though he knows Kyungsoo's already got a roommate and probably isn't looking to move anywhere. "But if you think of someone, let me know."

"I'll definitely keep it in mind," Minseok agrees.

In the next moment, time slows down. They both hear it at the same time, but they're too far away and it's too late to do anything to stop it. The loud whump of a body hitting the ground, overlapped by the unmistakable crack of bone. Following that, Sehun's high-pitched wail of despair. Daeun screeches.

"Shit, what did he _do_?" Minseok demands, scanning the playground for the source of the sound. Baekhyun's already running towards the large tree on the outskirts of the playground. He should've known—Sehun's been obsessed with climbing things lately, and the tree presented the perfect opportunity with its low-hanging branches, sturdy for an enterprising child to scale.

Someone else reaches Sehun before Baekhyun does. A guy in a black sweatshirt with the hood pulled up over his head, the white cord from a pair of headphones dangling from around his neck as he bends over Sehun and holds his shoulders steady. The hood slips back and Baekhyun's stomach lurches with surprise. His body's already overwhelmed with adrenaline from Sehun's accident. Now he's looking Hot Guy in the face and it feels like his veins are sparking like crossed power lines. _Shit, it's you,_ he thinks.

"Shit," Baekhyun echoes aloud, burying his shock to kneel at Sehun's side. He's not looking at Sehun, though. He stares at Hot Guy, transfixed, until he manages to get his gaping jaw unlocked and moving again. "Sehun, what were you _doing_?"

"It hurts!" Sehun whimpers, clutching at his elbow. It's probably broken. Not that he'll let anyone near enough to check. _Shit, fuck, god dammit,_ Baekhyun thinks. "I was in my bird's nest—"

"Crow's," he corrects automatically, and then feels bad for being so petty when the kid's obviously in a lot of pain. Hot Guy looks up from Sehun's face, obviously fighting a smile. So he'd noticed.

"I think it's broken," Hot Guy says, echoing Baekhyun's concerns. It's the first time he's spoken. Baekhyun's surprised at how deep his voice is, how smooth. He nods dumbly.

"Who are you?" Minseok asks. Baekhyun's startled a third time, unaware that Minseok had even reached where Sehun had fallen. He's surrounded by a gaggle of five- and six-year-olds, all peering with wide eyes around Minseok's legs at Sehun, who's still wriggling and wailing and generally making a racket.

"Kim Jongin," says Jongin. "I was walking by and saw him lose his balance out of the tree. He landed right on his arm."

"Did you hit your head?" Minseok asks, kneeling as well, hands ghosting down Sehun's shoulders, too afraid to touch him. To hurt him any more. Sehun shakes his head, arm held against his chest protectively. His face is swollen with tears that collect against the flare of his nostrils and then trickle down his cheeks.

"Need to take him to the hospital," Minseok says, and Baekhyun becomes aware that Minseok's staring at him under his eyebrows, expectant. "Baekhyun? Do you want to take him, or should I?"

Baekhyun shakes his head, trying to concentrate. Sehun makes the decision for him. "Baekhyun-hyung," he whimpers, grabbing at Baekhyun's sleeve with his good hand. "I want Baekhyun-hyung." Baekhyun feels oddly pleased at this, like he's won something.

"I'm going to have to carry you if you won't walk," Baekhyun says. "Can you sit up?"

Hot Guy—wait, no, he's got a name, Jongin—is still there, watching, when Sehun manages to pull himself to his feet. "I can walk," Sehun insists, sniffling loudly. Baekhyun gives him half a block before he starts begging to be carried, but he accepts the decision just the same. Sehun's growing and getting heavier every day. Carrying him across town to the hospital is not high on his list of preferred activities.

"Do you need any help?" Jongin asks awkwardly. Baekhyun isn't sure if Jongin doesn't recognize him from this morning or if he's just being polite.

"I think we're all set," he says, then looks back at Minseok. "Can you get everyone back okay?"

"Absolutely."

Baekhyun turns back to Jongin and smiles at him. "Thanks for being so quick to help. We've got it from here, though."

Jongin nods, hands buried in his pockets. "Sure thing. Sorry you got hurt, Sehun," Jongin says genuinely, speaking to Sehun with a level of comfort that suggests a familiarity with children. He locks eyes with Baekhyun and _finally_ there's a flicker of recognition. The corner of his mouth twitches, eyebrow raised, and Baekhyun really does blush this time. He hopes Minseok hasn't noticed. He turns away.

"C'mon, Sehun," he says, offering his hand to Sehun, who wipes the snot from his nose and then slips the same hand inside Baekhyun's. Baekhyun closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and does not complain out loud about the warm gob of snot in his hand, even if he's freaking out about it on the inside. "Let's go."

 

—

 

It's broken, alright. Cleanly, but it still means six to eight weeks in a cast, no swimming, and definitely no climbing. Sehun is disgruntled at the news, already eyeing the plaster encasing his arm with a deep frown creasing his face. Baekhyun can literally see him trying to work it out in his head, how to maneuver around this obstacle without keeping him from having fun.

Baekhyun calls Junmyeon as soon as Sehun receives his cast and they're on their way back to the orphanage. Baekhyun springs for a cab, even though it's a nice day out. Sehun's worn out from the hectic day and crawls into Baekhyun's lap to curl drowsily under Baekhyun's chin, sucking on his thumb until Baekhyun pulls it out with a loud pop to remind him that only babies suck their thumbs.

Dinner's waiting for both of them in the kitchen. Hyerim had set aside enough for two plates. Sehun pushes his around and eats a few mouthfuls; Baekhyun ends up finishing his and then eats Sehun's leftovers, too. Sehun doesn't even put up a fight when Baekhyun suggests an early bedtime.

"He must _really_ hurt," Hyerim says, eyes softening at the sight of Sehun's tousled hair as he pads away from the table. Baekhyun shrugs and sets their dirty dishes in the sink.

"He cried when it happened, but he was pretty tough at the hospital. Didn't complain once."

"That's our Sehun," she says, turning on the sink to wash the dishes. Baekhyun makes an aborted gesture to help her, but she waves him off. "You look tired, too. It's been quite a day for you."

"Yeah." The day's events hit him with the force of a city bus. "God, Hyerim. I'm so, _so_ sorry," he whispers so any eavesdropping little ears can't hear him. "I really screwed up today." He drops his head in his hands, feeling guilty. The running water stops. Hyerim strokes the nape of his neck comfortingly, the way she would for any one of the children.

"Baekhyun. It's not your fault."

He looks up at her. "I should have been watching more closely. Sehun's been climbing on everything, of course he was gonna try a tree—"

"You can't keep your eyes on them every minute of every day. He'll learn to take better care of himself," Hyerim says, putting her hand over Baekhyun's. "Don't beat yourself up over it too much."

Sehun's already sitting in his bed waiting for a bedtime story when Baekhyun pokes his head into the boys' room. The other three beds are still empty, waiting for the others to finish their evening bathtime routine before they come to bed.

"Hey," Baekhyun says. "How's your arm?"

"It hurts," Sehun admits. "But not as much as it did earlier."

"That's good." The bed creaks under Baekhyun's weight when he sits at the edge. "You're being very brave. I'm proud of you."

"I didn't mean to fall," Sehun says, and it's the sorriest Baekhyun's heard him all day. "I was just trying to see what that hyung was doing."

"What hyung?" Baekhyun asks, motioning for Sehun to sit back against the pillow so he can tuck him in properly. Sehun's cast keeps his arm bent at a ninety degree angle and is probably going to cause problems tonight. Baekhyun hopes that Sehun's tired enough to sleep through the discomfort. "Minseok?"

"No. The hyung who helped me when I fell."

Baekhyun thinks for a moment, because if he's not talking about Minseok, _then who?_ and then remembers, suddenly: Hot Guy was there, too. Kim Jongin. The dancer from this morning. He clears his throat. "What was he doing?"

"Spinning."

"Spinning?"

"He didn't even look dizzy," Sehun says, eyelids already sinking. Baekhyun can tell he's not going to have to read a story tonight. "That hyung is so cool."

Baekhyun chuckles softly. "Cooler than me?"

"Hmm," Sehun replies sleepily. It's not really a yes or a no. Baekhyun sits for a while longer, watching Sehun's shoulders rise and fall with his slow breathing. Kid's out cold. Easiest bedtime in quite some time. He kisses the crown of Sehun's head and retreats, thinking about what Sehun had said.

He's got a name, now, to go along with the Nowon Academy of Dance. Kim Jongin. So he can find him again, if he wants to. Not for any weird reason, he rationalizes to himself, already plotting his next visit to the Academy. He just wants to thank him for helping Sehun. He's not _stalking_ the guy, regardless of how hot he is (he's incredibly hot) and what Baekhyun had done this morning (a bad decision spurred by curiosity, never to be repeated)—and to be fair, Jongin had been the one to run into _him_ the second time, so really, they're even. It's fine. It'll be fine. And Sehun will probably appreciate it.

 

—

 

Baekhyun has Thursdays and Fridays off. Mondays, too. He's up at the crack of dawn today anyway, too guilty to sleep. He tugs on a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans with a hole in the knee (not exactly appropriate work attire, but good enough for a quick off-duty visit) and trails out just in time to catch Liyin and Jongdae caught in an extended goodbye kiss. She springs back awkwardly when he rounds the corner and covers his eyes.

"Baekhyun. You're up early," she says.

"On your day off?" Jongdae's voice is scratchy and he's a little out of breath. Baekhyun wonders just how long they were wrapped around each other like that before he came in to interrupt them.

"I am," he says, nodding at the glittering band now making a home on her finger. "Nice hardware. He did well?"

"He did very well." She laughs. "Of course you knew."

"Congratulations," Baekhyun says, and even stands still to let Liyin ruffle his hair for a moment.

"Couldn't sleep?" Jongdae asks, stepping away to pour himself a cup of coffee.

"I'm going in for a little while. Just to see how Sehun's doing."

"Baekhyun broke one of his kids," Jongdae says to Liyin, who doesn't quite manage to cover her mouth in time to stifle her laughter.

"Okay, first off, I didn't _break him_. He fell." Baekhyun grabs an apple out of the fruit bowl in the kitchen and takes an angry bite out of it to punctuate his words. "Second," he continues with his mouth full, spraying tiny bits of apple, "I feel really bad about it."

"I can tell," Jongdae says, holding up his watch to tap the face. "You're never out of the door before I am."

"First time for everything." Baekhyun turns to leave. "Sorry for interrupting you. I'm out of here. You can go back to, uh, whatever it was you were doing before I walked in."

"Going to miss our mornings together," Jongdae quips as Baekhyun swings the door shut behind him. "It just won't be the same without you."

 

—

 

It really _is_ early, and Baekhyun doesn't want to arrive right in the middle of breakfast and interrupt the morning routine, so he takes his time and skips the subway in favor of walking through town. It's a beautiful morning, anyway, and he's got a quick detour to make first.

He tosses the apple core into a nearby trash can and wipes his damp fingers on his jeans. He checks his reflection in a storefront window to make sure he doesn't have bits of apple skin stuck between his teeth and checks the time on his phone again. Close enough.

The Nowon Academy of Dance is just as busy as it was yesterday. The steps are cluttered with dancers, most of them smoking cigarettes or trying to finish their morning coffee before class. They watch him with narrowed, curious eyes as he takes the steps two at a time and weaves between a pair of tall, slender girls to slip inside.

The large studio is empty, though. And although there are maybe a dozen people scattered down the hall—some standing close together, talking quietly, some sitting against the wall, headphones over their ears—it doesn't look like he's here.

"Can I help you?"

Baekhyun whips around. It's a young guy, maybe twenty or so, dressed in loose clothing, with floppy dark hair that hangs over one eye. He seems friendly enough with the way he's smiling at Baekhyun, probably trying to appear welcoming, but Baekhyun's shaken with surprise all the same.

"I'm Minho," he says, and inclines his head. "Haven't seen you in here before. Are you interested in auditioning for the company?"

"Oh, uh. No, no. I'm not a dancer, sorry. I'm, uh, looking for someone," Baekhyun stammers.

"No problem. We've got lots of someones," Minho says. "Does this someone have a name?"

"Jongin. Kim Jongin? He—I think he comes here."

Minho's eyes light up with recognition. "Oh, yeah. Jongin. He doesn't get in until ten. He's usually with Taemin right now—best time to catch the morning commuters." He smiles, like that's supposed to mean something to Baekhyun. "You need to leave a message with me or something?"

"If I do that, can you get it to him?"

"Sure. Not a problem," he says. "Is it long, or—?"

"No, no. Just—uh. Here," Baekhyun says, pulling out his wallet. He's got a couple of Junmyeon's business cards tucked in there. They're supposed to be for placements, for kids looking for a home, not really for this, but he doesn't really know how else to explain why he's here.

He scribbles his name—and, impulsively, his number—on the back of the card and hands it over to Minho, who looks at it suspiciously, holding it between thumb and forefinger.

"Orphanage—?"

"Yeah. I work there—that's my boss's card. I just wanted to come by and thank Jongin for helping out with Sehun yesterday." Baekhyun sees Minho's blank expression and continues: "Sehun. One of our kids. Fell out of a tree. Jongin was right there to help. Just wanted to thank him and let him know Sehun's okay."

Minho looks at the card for a minute longer and then back up at Baekhyun. "I'll pass it along to him," he says, finally smiling. "That's our Jongin, though. Thoughtful guy."

 _Oh really,_ Baekhyun thinks, filing that away for later. He wants to ask more questions about Jongin, but he's pretty sure Minho will start to suspect that he's some sort of weird stalker if he pries too much.

Which, Baekhyun realizes, he kind of is.

"Thanks. Really appreciate it," he says instead, and retreats.

 

Sehun's delighted to see him, which makes him feel a little better about the whole thing. Baekhyun comes in during Kyungsoo's morning art lesson and Sehun nearly tips over his chair trying to get to him. Kyungsoo seems equally amused to see Baekhyun and disgruntled by the interruption. Still, he doesn't say anything, just hands Baekhyun a box of crayons and tells him to take a seat.

"Can't pay you for today," Junmyeon warns when he pokes his head in and sees Baekhyun sitting in one of the tiny chairs next to Sehun, knees practically under his chin, but Baekhyun doesn't really care about that. If he was that concerned about money—which, in all honesty, he _should_ be—he wouldn't be working here in the first place. Instead, he passes Sehun a crayon and watches him struggle with his uncooperative left hand until Baekhyun takes pity on him and reaches over to hold the paper still.

 

—

 

Lunchtime rolls around and Baekhyun's still hanging out with the kids. He'd meant to leave an hour ago, but he's not one to turn down a free meal, even if it means he has to help prepare it first.

The kitchen, tucked at the back of the old house, was built for expanded food service, able to seat and feed a family of twenty. Everyone takes turns. The older children are allowed to help with little things that require minimal supervision. Wash the vegetables, the rice. Set the table. Sehun sits at the head of the table and plays at directing things, cast clunking against the edge of the table every time he gets too excited. The other children chatter enthusiastically to each other over their empty plates. Baekhyun swears he hears Daeun telling an exaggerated rendition of how Sehun fell, but he barely has the chance to listen in before the kitchen goes eerily silent. There's a stranger standing in the threshold. Baekhyun's heart lodges itself in his throat. Jongin.

"Hi," he says. "Baekhyun stopped by the studio this morning but I wasn't there—I just wanted to see how Sehun was doing."

Baekhyun hastily gets to his feet and bows. "I didn't realize you'd come—Junmyeon, Hyerim, this is Jongin, he helped with Sehun yesterday," Baekhyun says, making brief introductions. He sees Hyerim trying to catch his eye and pointedly refuses to reciprocate. He knows her, knows exactly what she's thinking, and knows if she sees his face then he'll be completely busted. She'll know everything.

Junmyeon wipes his hand on the dish towel slung over his shoulder and warmly extends his hand to shake Jongin's. "Really can't thank you enough," he says. Behind him, the children at the table are whispering to each other despite Kyungsoo's urging them to keep quiet. Sehun's sitting bolt-upright in the thick of it, looking proud at being important enough to get a visitor at lunchtime.

"Come eat with us," Hyerim encourages, pulling out a chair. "There's enough."

Jongin is visibly hesitant and lingers in the entryway until Sehun slaps the place setting next to him. "Sit next to me," he wheedles, in true six-year-old fashion. "I want you to sit here."

"Is that okay?" Jongin asks, eyes darting to where Baekhyun's sitting a few places down, uncapping a jar of strained peas for one of the babies, Sanghyuk. He flashes Jongin a brilliant smile and feels his toes curl as Jongin's cheeks flush a delicate pink.

"Sit," he says. And then to Sehun, teasingly: "I can't believe you're replacing me. I thought I was your favorite."

Sehun pulls a face. "I sit next to you all the time, hyung," he explains, turning back to Jongin. The other children look on with some envy at the attention Jongin's lavishing on Sehun, although a soft reprimand from Junmyeon refocuses their attention on their plates full of food, rapidly going cold.

It's the strangest lunch Baekhyun's ever sat through. He alternates spooning mushy peas into Sanghyuk's wide, baby bird mouth and watching with subdued fascination as Jongin chats with Sehun. Jongin doesn't seem intimidated in the slightest by the forward conversational style of a six-year-old and fields every question Sehun sends his way without blinking.

"What were you doing?" Sehun demands. "It looked cool." Jongin picks up his chopsticks.

"Practicing. I'm a dancer." He smiles, and his gaze flickers up to Baekhyun, who can't look away fast enough to disguise the fact that he's staring. Baekhyun wonders who this guy is, why he's so at ease with kids, and promptly drops a spoonful of peas onto Sanghyuk's tray. Sanghyuk makes an indignant grunt. Hyerim laughs.

"I want to do that," Sehun insists, completely ignoring the disgruntled noises coming out of Sanghyuk. "Show me how to do that."

"Sehun," Junmyeon cuts in gently. "That's not very polite. You should always say please, and I'm sure Jongin's very busy."

"No, no," Jongin says graciously. "I can show you. But your arm has to heal first. So finish your vegetables. You can't dance if you're not strong and healthy."

Sehun attacks the food on his plate with renewed vigor. Hyerim mouths a 'thank you' to him over the table and he replies with a broad, toothy smile. Baekhyun's stomach does a backflip. Jongin's smile is blinding.

 

—

 

After the dishes have been cleared away, Kyungsoo herds the excited kids back towards the classroom. Sehun's reluctant to say goodbye but Jongin promises to come visit as soon as Sehun's arm heals.

"Please don't feel like you have to," Junmyeon says as soon as they're alone. "Sehun's got a very strong personality. He's very good at charming people."

"He's cute. But if he's really interested in learning, it could be kind of fun," Jongin says, slipping a hand in his back pocket. "I'd like to come back."

Watching Jongin from his strategic position at the sink where he's washing dishes, Baekhyun hopes he really does come back, because then he won't have to find an excuse to bump into him again.

"My company's doing a show next month. Would you be interested in tickets?" Junmyeon looks tempted. Before he can speak, Jongin puts his hands up. "As my guests. Everyone. Even Sanghyuk."

"That sounds great," Hyerim enthuses. "The kids would love that. Thank you, Jongin."

"I'll drop off the tickets next week," he promises, his cheeks coloring again. "I just need a final headcount, but it shouldn't be a problem."

 _Cute_ , Baekhyun thinks. He remembers that sexy smirk of Jongin's and wonders how it came out of someone this disarmingly adorable. It seems weird to reconcile these two ideas of Jongin that he has into one person. Not that he really knows anything about Jongin at all.

Well. That's not strictly true. He knows his name. He knows Jongin is a dancer. He knows that he's good with children. Past that, though—

"Baekhyun." Hyerim's voice breaks his train of thought.

"Hm?" he asks, trying to pretend like he hasn't been listening in on the conversation. The water in the sink slops noisily when he startles. Hyerim raises an eyebrow.

"Jongin's going to be on his way now. Why don't you see him out?"

He looks down at his hands, immersed elbow-deep in a sink full of soapy water. "I—"

"I can do the dishes," she breezes, holding out a towel for him. "Don't worry about it. It's your day off, anyway."

He withdraws his hands, wincing at how pruned his fingertips have become. "Thanks," he says, taking the towel. Then, to Jongin: "Uh. Shall we?"

"Go get him, tiger," Hyerim murmurs in Baekhyun's ear, jabbing her pointy elbow into his ribs as he passes. So much for trying to keep anything hidden from her. It's like she's got this creepy sixth sense for zeroing in on his true intentions. He wonders if it was written all over his face and if Jongin noticed it too, if Jongin had heard her.

If Jongin knows, he doesn't seem to show it. He bows to Hyerim, thanks her again for lunch, and falls in step next to Baekhyun.

"You know," Jongin says when they're nearly at the door. Baekhyun thinks he's going to say something about the orphanage, or maybe about the show he was talking about, but then he turns and looks Baekhyun straight in the eye and Baekhyun knows he's caught. "I'm a little surprised you came back to the Academy to look for me. You seemed to leave in a hurry the first time."

Baekhyun flushes hot with embarrassment. "God, I'm so sorry," he says, looking at his feet. "I know it was crazy. I've never done anything like that before in my life, I don't know what got into me."

"I thought that was you in the park, and then Minho tells me this guy showed up looking for me—I never told you where I worked, so..."

Baekhyun puts his fist against his forehead and nods. Stupid mistake. He's waiting for Jongin to accuse him of being a stalker and can't think of anything to say to his defense, because really, his behavior's been indefensible since the minute he first laid eyes on Jongin.

"I'm really glad you got in touch, though," Jongin says. Baekhyun wrenches his head up in astonishment. "I was thinking about Sehun last night. I broke my arm when I was about his age. I remember how much that sucked. He seems to be dealing with it better than I did. I cried a lot."

"He's a tough kid," Baekhyun says. "I'm surprised this is the first bone he's broken with the way he climbs on everything."

Jongin grins. "My nephew's the same way."

 _Aha, he has a nephew,_ Baekhyun thinks. _That's why he's so good with kids._ The conversation seems to be going well enough—Jongin hasn't told Baekhyun to back off or leave him alone, and Baekhyun might not get the chance again, so he takes a deep breath and swallows hard.

"Look. I know this is just—really unorthodox, but I don't believe in coincidences. I mean, after I saw you—and then at the park, I'm—you're really cute, and—" He breaks off and laughs nervously. "Let me take you out sometime," he blurts. Jongin surveys him, his expression soft but unreadable.

"I don't think that's a good idea. I'm not in the habit of going out with guys who follow me around," he says finally. "I'll stop by sometime next week and drop off the tickets for the kids." He digs around in the front pocket of his sweatshirt and fishes out a pen and a business card. Baekhyun belatedly recognizes it as the one he'd left with Minho.

"I'm sorry," Baekhyun says, hanging his head. "I'm really not like that normally, I promise. If you could just give me a chance..."

Jongin uncaps the pen and writes something on the back of the business card, right over where Baekhyun had written his own name and number. "Look, I hope you don't mind," he says as he scribbles, words muffled by the cap between his teeth. "I'm interested in coming back sometime and volunteering. If you could give this to Junmyeon for me, that'd be great." He pushes the card into Baekhyun's hands. "See you, Baekhyun."

Baekhyun stands in the doorway of the kitchen, thunderstruck, watching the retreating shape of Jongin's shoulders. He hears the clatter of pots and pans faintly over the thundering pulse in his ears, his mouth dry. "Shit," he mutters, trance finally broken, and looks away.

Hyerim's lingering guiltily in the kitchen when he finally comes back in. One look at her face tells him all he needs to know—she heard everything. He tosses the business card on the stainless steel counter next to her and smiles, face stretched tight with false cheer.

"Well. Can't blame me for trying, can you?"

"I can see why you liked him. He's very handsome, and he was very good with Sehun, too," Hyerim says, sweetly neutral. She touches his hand and then reaches for the card. She holds it close, reading it, and her face changes. "Baekhyun."

"I mean, he's right—what did I expect? I followed him _right_ into the school—"

"Baekhyun."

"—and then seeing him at the playground was just a coincidence but of course he's not going to _think_ it's a coincidence—"

"Baekhyun, did you even look at—"

"—and then remembering his name so I could go look for him at the school again? It was too much, I'm an idiot—"

Hyerim's patience snaps. "Baekhyun! Are you listening?" she asks, chopping the side of her hand into his neck. "You didn't look at the card he gave you, did he?"

"Ow. What? It's for Junmyeon-hyung," Baekhyun says, rubbing at his neck. He can feel the mark she left—she always does when she hits him. His eyes fall on the neat handwriting in crisp black ink, scrawled right over top of his name and number. It's smudged in a few places but he can still read it.

_Baekhyun. Meet me at the Cafe Princess tomorrow. 8PM. This way you won't have to follow me anymore ^^;; (I think you're cute, too!)_

"I can't believe that worked," Hyerim says, shaking her head in disbelief. "You creep."

Cheeks burning, Baekhyun pockets the business card and attacks the wet dishes with an enthusiasm he's usually not able to muster up for the really mundane chores.

 

—

 

The next evening, Baekhyun arrives an hour early to his date with Jongin at Cafe Princess. He'd hoped to have some time to calm his nerves, but Jongin's already sitting at the counter, chatting with the barista. His eyes light up when he catches sight of Baekhyun stepping in the cafe, setting off the tiny, jingling bell hanging up on the door. Baekhyun waves sheepishly and looks at his watch.

"I'm early, I know."

"That's okay," Jongin says. "So am I."

They sit at a table for two in the window, and Jongin comes back with two different milk teas and a plate full of pastries. "I work here a few days a week. That's Taemin," Jongin says, pointing over his shoulder at the barista. Baekhyun follows where he's pointing. Taemin is dark-haired, dark-eyed, with a generous smile that gives him a permanently amused expression. Taemin waves when he sees them looking over. "He comped the whole thing, so don't worry about it. Just eat."

"Picked someplace where you had a chaperone?" Baekhyun jokes weakly, reaching for the nearest egg tart. Jongin laughs heartily, head tipped back, a truly ugly, unbridled noise. Baekhyun loves it.

"So, do you stalk everyone you're interested in?" Jongin queries, taking a sip from his drink. There's a sly look in his eyes that Baekhyun would have missed if he weren't staring at Jongin quite so intently. Jongin looks hopelessly charmed and Baekhyun wonders if he managed to meet the only guy in Seoul who wouldn't find it creepy to be followed around. He sits back in his chair, biting back a smile.

"It's worked for me so far," he jokes.

"Uh huh." Jongin shakes the plastic cup to dislodge the ice. With the rate he's been drinking, the tea's nearly gone already. It makes a hollow, whistling sound when he tries to take another sip from it and ends up sucking air instead.

"You want another?" Baekhyun asks, pointing at his empty drink. Jongin holds up a hand and waves him off.

"So, what made you want to work at an orphanage? Were you adopted?" His eyes go wide. "Wait. That's rude. I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that."

"I was not adopted. At least, that's what my parents tell me. My brother's pretty convinced I showed up on the doorstep one day just to ruin his life," Baekhyun jokes. Shoulders relaxing, Jongin settles back and nods.

"Just seems like a really hard job. I don't know if I could do it. Did you always want to work with kids, then?"

"Yeah. Well. Sort of. Truthfully? I was going to be a music teacher," Baekhyun says.

"Really. Wow." Jongin looks taken aback. Whatever he'd been expecting, it obviously wasn't that. "So what happened? Why aren't you?"

Baekhyun takes a bite of the pastry on his plate and dusts his crumby fingertips on the thighs of his jeans. "I am. Sort of. I teach the music class. Basic stuff. A lot of singing. It's fun. The kids are really into it."

"So do you work somewhere else?"

Baekhyun laughs. "No."

Jongin tips his head, considering this. "Why not? Why not be a music teacher somewhere full-time?"

"I used to think the only way to make music was in an orchestra. You know, that the only music worth anything was made by professionals. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with that. Becoming a conductor. Being the one in control of the music."

Jongin nods.

"And then I got to school, and I realized—it's not up to me. I'm just a big pair of arms. A fraud. I don't know, I kind of felt like the whole thing was bullshit."

"Disillusioned," Jongin murmurs, setting his empty cup on the table. Baekhyun nods a little too vigorously.

"Exactly. Like, what gives me the right to dictate what's real music when I'm not even the one making it?" He crumples his napkin into a ball. "I guess I just finally realized that music's supposed to be a shared experience. Not. You know. Some sort of exclusive club that only certain people are invited to join."

Jongin's smile is very small and lopsided, which somehow makes him even more adorable to Baekhyun. "And now you work at an orphanage."

"And now I work at an orphanage," Baekhyun echoes. "What about you? Barista ballerina. Sounds like a glamourous job."

"Ballerino, actually," Jongin corrects, laughing. "I do a little bit of everything, though. This job's just to cover my expenses. I'd love to quit. Too bad teaching lessons doesn't pay better." The shoulder of his zipped sweatshirt slips down his arm, hanging on the crook of his elbow. Baekhyun resists the urge to reach across the table and pull it up for him.

"Then why don't you?"

"I need a spot in a company first," he says. "A reliable source of income." He puts on a voice when he says that last part, like he's imitating someone in his life, someone who maybe hasn't been entirely supportive of Jongin's goals. Baekhyun can relate. He's heard that exact phrase in that exact tone of voice so many times.

"I get that. It's something to do to pay the bills."

"Exactly," Jongin agrees. "And your music? Do you still play?"

Baekhyun shrugs. "Not as much as I should, probably. I'm kind of over it. I play for the kids sometimes. They like it when I play songs they know how to sing."

A tiny smile creeps into the corners of Jongin's smile. Time slows down. "That's really cute."

Now it's Baekhyun's turn to blush. "I know it's lame, but it's something I like to do. I like seeing how happy they are, how excited they get. I never really thought about kids like that before. And then Junmyeon offered to let me play for them so I could finish my community service requirement. I don't know. I got hooked on the place. It really sucks you in. I never want to leave."

"Explains why you go in on your days off," Jongin says. "Even if it's just to see Sehun."

"Or Daeun, or Sanghyuk, or any of the others. They're all so funny. Watching them grow up has been... God," he breaks off, groaning at himself.

"What?"

"It sounds stupid," he says, shaking his head. "More fulfilling than my senior recital, by far. _God._ That was gross. I sound like one of those feel-good brochures they hand out to recruit volunteers. I take it back, I just like having an excuse to go to the playground every day."

Jongin's chuckling when he slides his hand across the table to let the pads of his fingertips rest ever so lightly on Baekhyun's arm. "You should play for me sometime," he says, and Baekhyun feels his whole body flush warm.

"Yeah, okay," he says, and thinks that he actually might.

 

—

 

Jongin walks home with him later that night. Baekhyun feels like he's back in high school again with the way he's agonizing over the goodnight kiss, but then Jongin makes eyes over his shoulder at the door and asks if Baekhyun's roommate is home.

The lights are off. "No," Baekhyun says. "Jongdae's probably out with his fiancée. Do you want to come in, or something?" He looks at his watch. "It's still early."

"Yeah. Let's—you want to watch something on TV? A movie, maybe."

Jongin agrees eagerly, and Baekhyun thinks that 'movie' is going to be code for 'fucking your brains out' until Jongin _actually_ sits down on the couch and asks Baekhyun how to work the remote.

 _Well. Okay then,_ Baekhyun thinks. _Taking it slow works too._

 

—

 

Twenty minutes into the movie, Jongin has his head tipped back against the couch and he's snoring softly. Baekhyun starts to regret everything. He's tired and he's got to go in to work tomorrow and there's this guy he hardly knows sleeping on his couch. What an anticlimactic ending to what he'd thought had been a fairly good date.

"Jongin," he whispers quietly, pressing two fingers into his shoulder. "Wake up."

Jongin makes a sleepy grunting noise and curls into Baekhyun. Baekhyun freezes.

"Jongin?"

"Mmm."

"You—want to go home?"

"Mmmno." Jongin nuzzles his face drowsily into Baekhyun's neck, his breath hot and humid against Baekhyun's neck. "'m watching."

Tentatively, Baekhyun slides an arm around Jongin's waist, rubbing slow circles against the small of his back. Jongin hums drowsily, satisfied, and Baekhyun lets his chin come to rest against the top of Jongin's head. It's nice like this. Jongin's cozy, body heat radiating off him like a furnace. He'll just close his eyes for a second...

 

Baekhyun wakes up flat on his back with an arm slung over his waist and a terrible crick in his neck from sleeping against the arm of the couch. He hears the opening credits of a new movie playing distantly in the background over the sound of heavy breathing in his ear. When he turns, Jongin cracks open an eye and closes the distance, his lips soft and warm, parted just enough that the tip of his tongue grazes against Baekhyun's, and then he's asleep again, his hand curved to fit the back of Baekhyun's neck.

 

—

 

The door slams, startling Baekhyun awake. He didn't even realize he'd drifted off again. Jongin, too—he tumbles to the floor before Baekhyun can catch him and hold him close. Jongdae flips on the lights and stands blinking, eyes screwed up against the harsh brightness of the ceiling light. Liyin's behind him, peering curiously at the stranger sitting on the living room floor.

"Hi?" he says, voice lifting into a half-question when he sees Jongin sprawled out on the carpet, looking up at Jongdae underneath his eyebrows. Baekhyun clears the frog from his throat and speaks.

"Jongdae. Liyin. This is Jongin. Uh, Jongin this is—my roommate, I told you about. And his fiancée."

"Hi," Liyin says, waving.

"Hi," Jongin says, sitting up to rub at the carpet burn on his elbows. He sounds sheepish and won't meet Jongdae's eyes, which just makes the entire situation seem even more suspicious.

"We were watching TV and fell asleep," Baekhyun explains, which is mostly true. He leaves out the kiss, partly because he's not convinced he didn't dream it.

"We'll leave you to it, I guess," Jongdae says, eyebrows lifting. The curl in his smile is unmistakably, victoriously smug. He's finally caught Baekhyun in the same compromising position Baekhyun's caught Jongdae in, time after time. Turnabout being fair play and all, but Baekhyun still feels very strange. Especially because Jongin's still sitting on the floor looking guilty, which makes Baekhyun feel like he's done something wrong, allowing them to be caught like this.

Baekhyun waits until Jongdae and Liyin are safely inside Jongdae's room with the door shut before he turns to Jongin. "Hey. Jongin. You okay?"

"I—yeah," Jongin says, still sounding a little stunned. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize. Your roommate—"

"It's fine," Baekhyun says, waving his hand. "I do it to them all the time."

Jongin appears unconvinced. "I should go."

Baekhyun catches at Jongin's wrist as he stands. Jongin stiffens underneath his touch and his eyes dart back towards Jongdae's bedroom. The TV's still murmuring quietly, some late-night re-run of an old drama. "You don't have to," he says. "It's late. You can stay."

"I… are you sure?" Jongin asks. The slow way he blinks is so endearing, Baekhyun thinks he wouldn't mind watching him wake up every morning. He pulls himself to his feet using Jongin's weight as a counterbalance and sways at the sudden head rush, vision fizzing with little pinpricks of light. Jongin steadies him with a hand on his waist, warm and secure.

"I'm sure," Baekhyun says, eyes locking with Jongin's. The tip of his tongue runs around his lips, wetting them. Jongin mirrors the action, then leans in until he's millimeters away, breath warm, speaking right into Baekhyun's mouth.

"I thought I'd dreamt that," he rumbles, lips so close that they brush against Baekhyun's when he speaks. "I didn't?"

"Definitely not." Baekhyun shakes his head and closes the distance, feeling his stomach swoop all the way down to his toes.


	2. Chapter 2

Jongin's not there in the morning. Baekhyun looks for him in the bathroom before he notices Jongin's clothes are missing and wonders, briefly, if he'd scared him off. They hadn't done much last night past an extended make-out session above the covers of Baekhyun's bed, but he _had_ slept there the whole night. The dip in the bed from his body is still there as proof, the covers still bunched from where his legs had twisted around them, but the pillow is cold.

There's a message waiting for him from an unknown number when he gets around to checking his phone: _sorry i left without saying goodbye this morning!!! i had to get to work. see you later maybe? ^^_ and suddenly the tightness in his chest fades away. He exhales, relieved.

_sure. i'm done @ 5 2day_

_ill meet u there then_

Buoyed by the exchange, Baekhyun ends up arriving to work a full twenty minutes early, which is unheard of for him, especially when he's on breakfast duty. Hyerim grills him about how his date last night went and he ignores the entire line of questioning in favor of measuring out the water for the bean sprout soup.

"It went well, right?" Hyerim persists, poking at his cheek. "You're trying not to smile. It went well. Did you go home with him?"

"Hyerim," Junmyeon scolds when he comes in, apron knotted around his waist. "Leave him alone." It's pink and frilly—probably one of Hyerim's, or a donation, but either way the effect is the same: he looks ridiculous.

"Our Baekhyun had a date!" she says, ignoring the apron _and_ the admonishment in favor of slinging her arm around Baekhyun's neck and dragging him in for a hug. "With that Jongin from yesterday! Isn't it cute?"

"Aren't you supposed to be looking for a roommate?" Junmyeon asks, raising his eyebrows. "Not a boyfriend."

"It was just one date. He's _not_ my boyfriend," Baekhyun mumbles. "I put an ad in the paper. I've got someone lined up to come see it this weekend."

"Maybe you should ask Jongin if he's looking for a new place to stay," Hyerim suggests slyly. Baekhyun shrugs her off and brushes past to get to the fridge.

"That's moving a little fast."

"That means you've thought about it," Hyerim announces triumphantly. "You should ask him, Baekhyun."

Baekhyun's grateful that Minseok arrives just then and pulls Junmyeon and Hyerim away to speak to them about something. It's a welcome distraction from Hyerim's interrogation. The thought's been planted, though: he really hadn't considered asking Jongin if he was looking for a place to stay until Hyerim had suggested it, and now he finds it's all he can think about.

He nearly slices the tip of his finger off when he thinks about bending Jongin against the arm of the couch and fucking him with the lights on because it'd be _their_ place and they could do it anywhere they wanted. He shakes the thought out of his head as quickly as it comes to him. He's known Jongin for less than a week. Even if he's already feeling his absence, it's crazy to ask him to move in this soon.

He takes a deep breath, empties the sprouts into the soup pot, and adjusts the heat on the burner. It's going to be a long day.

 

—

 

Minseok pulls Baekhyun aside during lunch preparations to tell him the news.

"I'm handing in my resignation," he says. "I was offered a full-time position at the hospital. It's closer to where I live and the money's better. I'm leaving at the end of the month."

Baekhyun's disappointed. Minseok's a great coworker and the kids love him. It's really going to be difficult to find a replacement even half as reliable, but they'll just have to manage. They always do in the end.

"You should talk to Junmyeon about extending your hours," Minseok suggests. "Maybe you can turn your position into a full-time one."

Baekhyun would love the opportunity to take on more responsibility and work here full-time, but he already knows what Junmyeon's answer will be: he's got a degree in music, not social work. It's just not practical to hire him as a full-time employee.

"You never know," Minseok says when Baekhyun tells him this. "You've done a lot around here already without that degree. It doesn't go unnoticed, Baekhyun. Trust me."

 

—

 

Sehun's having a terrible time with the cast. Everything itches. Sehun keeps complaining about this, loudly and at length and usually when someone's in the middle of trying to say something. Junmyeon gives him a ruler to slip inside and scratch the skin but it doesn't seem to bring much relief, so the complaining continues.

"Can they take it off?" Sehun whines to Baekhyun in the middle of story time. He'd crawled in Baekhyun's lap immediately despite protests from the other children who had also wanted a lap to sit in, and was now fidgeting so noticeably that it was becoming a distraction. Minseok pauses mid-sentence, eyes flicking up to Baekhyun in a silent plea for him to deal with it.

"I'll take him," Baekhyun mouths over Sehun's head, and gets to his feet. "Come on, Sehun, let's go see if we can find something to make you feel better."

Baekhyun takes him right down to the kitchen and sits him up on the counter, pressing a finger to his lips. "Anybody asks, I never let you sit there," he warns. "Or you're in trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" Sehun asks.

"Big trouble. The biggest trouble. I can't even tell you how big because it'll scare you." Baekhyun digs around in the freezer and pulls out a melon ice cream bar from the secret employee stash at the back. Sehun's eyes go round when he sees it.

"What's that?"

"This," Baekhyun says, unwrapping it, "is a bribe, because I can't do anything about your cast."

"Gimme." Sehun sticks his good hand out and wiggles his fingers. Baekhyun holds it just out of reach.

"Promise you'll try to behave for Minseok tonight." He holds up a finger. "That means trying to use the ruler and not complaining too much."

"I promise," Sehun repeats dutifully. Baekhyun gives him the ice cream bar and kisses him on the forehead, ruffling his hair.

"I'm sorry you're uncomfortable. I wish there was something I could do."

Sehun shrugs, already busy smearing the ice cream over his lips as he eats. He seems distracted enough, at least for the moment. Baekhyun leans back against the fridge, listening for the sound of footsteps. Junmyeon probably wouldn't approve of giving one of the kids ice cream and not the others. It's all about being fair—which Baekhyun normally agrees with, except it's totally not fair that Sehun broke his wrist in the first place, and he feels like spoiling him just a little bit.

He doesn't even hear the person in the doorway until there's a tentative knock. Sehun looks up, panicked, face a sticky mess. Baekhyun yanks him down onto the floor and turns the corner, expecting to see Hyerim or Junmyeon. And of all people, he's not expecting to see Jongin standing in the middle of the kitchen and looking extremely guilty.

"Shit, it's just you," Baekhyun wheezes, clutching at his chest. Then, over his shoulder, "Sehun, don't ever say that word."

"Jongin-hyung!" Sehun chirps, too excited by Jongin's appearance to notice anything Baekhyun was saying. He holds out the half-finished melon bar. "Baekhyun gave me ice cream even though I haven't even had dinner yet."

"Did he?" Jongin asks, shooting an amused glance in Baekhyun's direction. "Lucky you."

"The cast is bothering him," Baekhyun explains, and then turns to Sehun, crossing his arms over his chest. "Hey. What did I say about not telling anyone?"

Sehun pauses. "Oops."

"You're going to get me fired," Baekhyun says, messing up Sehun's hair again.

"I won't tell anyone else, I promise!"

"Just finish up, okay? I need to clean your face."

"Hiding the evidence?" Jongin teases.

"You bet I am," Baekhyun says.

Jongin crouches to get down to Sehun's level. "I bet your cast is really itchy." Sehun nods emphatically, sucking on the lolly stick. Jongin continues. "Let me show you what I used to do." He looks up at Baekhyun. "Can you get me a chopstick?"

 _Genius,_ Baekhyun thinks, _why didn't I think of that?_ and fetches one from the utensil drawer. Jongin does a brief demonstration on his own bare arm and then hands it over to Sehun to give it a try. Sehun finishes up the last bit of ice cream and trades the popsicle stick for the chopstick.

"He's probably going to end up stabbing one of the kids with that, but at least he won't be complaining about being itchy anymore," Baekhyun says quietly to Jongin as they both watch Sehun digging around under his cast with the chopstick, a blissed out expression on his face.

"Hey, I just solved his problem. The stabbing thing's yours. What should I do with this?" Jongin hands over Sehun's garbage. "Make sure you destroy all the evidence."

"They'll never know," Baekhyun assures him, tossing it in the trash bin and covering it with a wad of paper towel. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"I said I'd meet you. It's five o'clock," Jongin says. "Are you ready to go?"

"Go? Where are we going?" Baekhyun asks.

Jongin opens his mouth to answer but doesn't get a chance to say anything before Hyerim bustles in, her arms full of groceries. She stops when she sees the three of them standing there, looking like they're up to no good.

"Oh? Jongin?" Hyerim says, surprised. "You're back. It's nice to see you again so soon."

"I'm sorry for intruding," he says, bowing. "I'm just here to pick up Baekhyun. If he's finished for the day."

"Ah, I see," Hyerim says, and then notices Sehun behind Baekhyun, still scratching at himself with the chopstick. "Sehun. Be gentle." Sehun's hand slows.

"Sorry," Baekhyun says quickly, rescuing some of the groceries from her arms. "He was disrupting story time. It was easier than trying to make him sit still."

"So you brought him in here. Do I even want to know how you spoiled his dinner?" Hyerim asks. Baekhyun pointedly looks away, shrugging.

"I just wanted to bring him someplace quiet."

"Which is why he's got ice cream all down his shirt. Good job, Baekhyun," Hyerim chuckles. "Don't worry, I won't tell Junmyeon. But please get him changed before you leave."

Baekhyun covers his face with his hands.

 

—

 

"You're really good with Sehun," Jongin says much, much later. They're eating at a food cart and Baekhyun's mouth is slippery with grease and salt or he'd think about trying to kiss Jongin again. It's been on his mind ever since Jongin arrived at the orphanage and although he keeps stealing long glances at Jongin's full lips, he hasn't actually worked up the courage to do anything about it. Everything seems so much scarier in the daylight. By contrast, last night feels like it was forever ago.

"Thanks," he says instead around his mouthful of odeng. "I try hard not to play favorites, but Sehun's been with us since he was a baby. He was one of the first kids I ever held."

Jongin half-heartedly wipes at his hands with a napkin and then wads it up. "He's lucky to have someone like you around."

"Everyone there is really good," Baekhyun says awkwardly, flushing at the compliment. "It's not—I'm not trained—I didn't go to school for it. There's still a lot I don't know."

"You seem like you know exactly what you're doing." Jongin shrugs. "I don't think degrees matter all that much, honestly."

Baekhyun stands there for a few moments, unsure of what to say next. "So how was work this morning?" he blurts out, desperate to change the subject. "You were gone when I woke up and I wasn't sure—"

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," Jongin says. "I thought about waking you up, but I kept you up pretty late, so I just texted you instead."

"It's okay, I'm glad it wasn't—I'm glad I didn't make you uncomfortable or anything, that's all." Baekhyun pauses. "I'm glad you wanted to hang out again."

"Of course. I figured if you were going to follow me around anyway, I might as well get to know you," Jongin says, leaning into Baekhyun to nudge shoulders together. "Plus, I ended up kind of liking you." A sudden warmth radiates through Baekhyun and his heart thumps.

"I like you too," he says, voice so quiet he's not even sure if Jongin heard him until Jongin leans in and steals a quick kiss from Baekhyun's mouth. He tastes like garlic. He grins childishly, suddenly self-conscious, and returns his attention back to his food.

"Anyway," Jongin continues like nothing had just happened, "Taemin and I have a standing schedule. Every morning, rain or shine, we're at Exit 3 during rush hour."

"Really," Baekhyun says. It hadn't really occurred to him that Jongin was busking that first morning he'd followed him. "Is the money any good?"

"Sometimes." Jongin shrugs. "Sometimes we barely get enough to buy dinner, but usually it's good enough to cover groceries."

"So you've got three jobs, then," Baekhyun says, impressed. "You're really busy."

"I don't mind making time for certain things," Jongin says, and from his tone it's clear he means Baekhyun is one of those things.

"I'm glad." Baekhyun lifts his eyes and catches Jongin staring at him. His eyes are dark, pupils blown wide. He looks like he wants to kiss Baekhyun right there in the street. Baekhyun swallows hard. He kind of wants him to.

"You want to come see where I live?" Jongin asks instead.

Baekhyun nods. "Yeah," he says, voice hoarse with anticipation. He's been thinking all day about what he'd do if he got some time alone with Jongin again, and here's his chance—albeit sooner than he'd expected. Still, he seizes it. He wants this—wants Jongin—too much to start being shy about it now. "I do."

 

—

 

Jongin's flat is a studio, one room. Barely one room, really. There's a rack of clothes hanging near the window as a makeshift curtain-cum-closet, and a hotplate set up in the corner. Beyond that, a shitty mattress, more cover than actual padding. Two distinct sets of sheets and two pillows. Baekhyun crowds him through the door. Jongin turns the lights on and stands shyly, scuffing his toe into the floorboards.

"Taemin's not coming back for a while," he explains, gesturing at the rack of clothes. "Those are his. Mostly."

Baekhyun looks around. He's used to minimalism, living simply, but this is on an entirely different level. Jongin doesn't even have a real bed. The second set of sheets rolled up on the floor—obviously Taemin's. Forget the awkward intrusions that occur in his living situation. There aren't any doors to close here. There is no privacy.

Jongin seems to sense the hesitance. "I'm sorry," he says. "I know it's not much. I was between couches, and Taemin said I could split the rent, and I just sort of ended up… staying a year longer than I meant to."

"I know I'm losing my mind, because this is ridiculous, you live in a _closet_ and I don't even care, you're so hot," Baekhyun says suddenly, lunging towards him. He laps his tongue into Jongin's mouth, sucking the words right out of him. Jongin moans, overcome, and yanks Baekhyun down on the bed on top of him.

Baekhyun feels like a teenager, hands fumbling and unsure. They slip to cradle Jongin's hips, fingers digging into the dimples at the small of his back. Jongin pulls his shirt over his head and lies there, hair mussed, chest heaving. Jongin's body is as gorgeous as Baekhyun imagined—maybe even better. Long, lean. Muscular. The way his hips are working against Baekhyun's groin has Baekhyun tipping his head back into the pillow, gritting his teeth to stop from coming in his pants right then and there.

Jongin's just as eager to undress Baekhyun. He untucks his shirt from his jeans and pulls at the button a few times before it finally unsnaps. A thought surfaces through the haze clouding Baekhyun's mind— _I can't remember which pair of underwear I put on this morning_ —but then he's kicking them off with his jeans and it stops mattering at all to him.

Considering his line of work, it's been a long time since he's taken an evening to himself. A long time since somebody mouthed kisses down the center of his chest. He leans back and lets himself relax into it, fingernails scraping against Jongin's scalp over and over. Jongin's skin tastes like leather and salt, some unidentifiable cologne that smells warm and spicy and very expensive. Baekhyun can't keep his mouth off of him. He mashes his face into the side of Jongin's neck and inhales, feeling the steady throb of Jongin's pulse against his lips.

After a while, his lower half starts to go numb under the weight of Jongin's body. He squirms out from underneath Jongin and rolls over, pinning him to the bed by his hips. The mattress is thin—too thin, really. Baekhyun can feel the hard stretch of floorboards underneath his elbows and wonders what it'd be like to spend the whole night here.

He flips Jongin over and licks right up the crack of his ass without pretense, grinning when he feels Jongin's legs start to quiver underneath his hands. Jongin inhales sharply and then chuckles, a short burst of air. "Fuck," he says quietly. "I've never—"

"Is this okay?" Baekhyun asks, sitting back and soothing his hand down the curve of Jongin's buttock. Jongin nods, humming quietly in affirmation, and reaches back blindly to pat at Baekhyun's shoulder.

"Keep going," he says. "I'm—it's just new. Feels good."

Baekhyun lowers his face back to the whorl of Jongin's ass and sucks wetly, spit collecting at the corners of his mouth as his tongue works. It's a filthy sound, but the noises coming out of Jongin's mouth are just as obscene. He bows his head into his pillow and bites it to muffle his cries, hand tugging between his legs until Baekhyun knocks it away and flips him over.

"I want to fuck you," he murmurs, breath humid and warm on Jongin's neck. "Can I?" His fingers rake through the mop of fringe on Jongin's forehead.

"Fuck, yeah. Please," Jongin groans and digs around under the pillow for the lube and a condom. Baekhyun doesn't stop to think too hard about this—why they're so easily accessible, who else has come before him. Whether Jongin shares them with Taemin.

Jongin sits up while Baekhyun prepares him, hands cupped around Baekhyun's face, peppering it with kisses, hips rocking down onto Baekhyun's fingers. His cock hangs heavy between his legs, flushed dark with arousal, tip shiny with pre-come. It's already smeared in a sticky trail down his thigh. Baekhyun pulls Jongin onto his lap, one fist on the base of his cock to steady it, other hand braced on Jongin's hip to guide him down. Jongin gasps, fingers scrabbling into Baekhyun's shoulders. The heat and the pressure are unbelievable.

"You feel so good," Baekhyun says, thrusting up at the same time he pulls Jongin's hips down towards him, holding their bodies flush together, trying to push deeper inside Jongin, trying to disappear inside him completely. "You like that?" he asks as a particularly hard thrust makes Jongin cry out, hips bucking. Jongin nods into the side of his face.

"Yeah," he pants. "God, yes. Do it again."

"I've been thinking about this all day," Baekhyun says, taking a fresh grip on Jongin's ass to pull him closer. "Couldn't stop thinking about you."

"Me too," Jongin says. "Just wanted to see you. I knew—ah, fuck—you'd be like this."

Baekhyun feels his thighs tighten as gooseflesh rises across his whole body listening to Jongin whisper about all the dirty thoughts he'd been having all day—the same dirty thoughts Baekhyun had been having. Wishing he'd fucked Jongin last night, wishing he hadn't waited because this is so good, _he's_ so good, he never wants to stop. He thinks about spreading him out in his bed instead of this hard floor and taking his time winding him up, thinks about fucking him on the living room floor until his knees get rug burn. He comes with that last thought.

Jongin rides him through it until Baekhyun finishes and can't take it anymore, skin burning and his throat dry from his ragged breathing. He pushes Jongin back against the pillows and pulls his legs over his shoulders to suck him off. It only takes a few tight bobs of his head before Jongin's coming too, crying out Baekhyun's name, back arched off the mattress, his hands cupped tenderly around Baekhyun's face.

 

—

 

They spend the rest of the evening like that. Any conversation gets derailed in favor of a second round, less hurried than the first. Baekhyun's just reaching over to try for a third even though he's pretty sure he's not going to be able to come again for a week when Jongin checks the time on his phone.

"Shit," he says, getting up on his hands and knees to scramble for his clothing. "Taemin's going to be home any minute."

Baekhyun feels like he's in college again as he yanks his pants back on. Then suddenly there's a key in the lock, and Baekhyun _still_ can't figure out where his shirt went, and he finds himself bare-chested and face-to-face with Taemin, who takes one look at the two of them and bursts out laughing.

"Well hi," he says, kicking off his shoes. "I'd ask what you kids have been up to all night, but I'll just crack a window and that'll be the end of the discussion."

Baekhyun's face burns. "I—sorry. I'm Baekhyun. You must be Taemin."

"I remember you from last night," Taemin says, a devilish grin stretched from ear to ear. "The stalker. Right Jongin?"

"Oh, God." Jongin sits back against the wall and covers his face. "Is this payback?"

"Of course it is." Taemin drops his bag on his half of the bed. "Sorry to interrupt your fun."

"I should be going anyway," Baekhyun says, and he _would_ make a run for it out the door but he still can't find his shirt. Jongin comes to the rescue with a clean t-shirt of his own and walks a grateful Baekhyun downstairs.

"I'm sorry," Jongin says when they get to the front door, and jerks his head upward so Baekhyun knows he's talking about Taemin. "One of the drawbacks of not having my own place. It's never really been a problem before. I'm sorry, though. For—you know, him. He really doesn't care, he just thinks he's funny."

"Sounds a lot like Jongdae," Baekhyun says. Jongin looks so much like he wants to be kissed with the way he's standing there in front of Baekhyun, hands clasped nervously behind his back. So Baekhyun gets up on his toes and does it, hand curling around the nape of Jongin's neck to bring his face down to Baekhyun's height.

"Your place next time," Jongin mumbles, hand skimming down Baekhyun's chest to settle on his hip. "You've got a room with a door."

"I do have a door. It's a date," Baekhyun says. "When are you free?" _When can we do this again?_

"I can come over tomorrow after work," Jongin says. "It'll be late, but I want to see you again and I don't want to wait."

"Come. I don't care how late it is," Baekhyun tells him in between kisses. "Just come."

 

—

 

True to his word, Jongin does come over after work the next night, and every night after that for the next week. On a whim, Baekhyun buys him a toothbrush on his way home from the orphanage and then promptly throws it away when he gets home because it's fucking freaking him out. He's never gotten this close to someone this fast before. He's already forgotten what it's like to sleep alone. He rolls over every morning to hit the alarm and Jongin's usually up already, sleepy-eyed and yawning, pulling on a pair of jeans and tripping over himself to kiss Baekhyun goodbye.

And it's hard, trying to juggle the roommate search with his job. Any spare minute he has, he's with Jongin, sitting at the cafe waiting for him to get off work or leaning against the back wall of the dance studio, watching Jongin lead a group through a new combination they've been struggling with. He's seen maybe half a dozen people since he put the ad in the paper and none of them were any good. The wedding's approaching and he's running out of time. Baekhyun's been dragging his feet, but a new roommate is an inevitability and every day that passes is another reminder. Not to mention Jongdae comes home one night with big news: he and Liyin have bought a house. Shit's getting real.

The first guy that came to look at the apartment had a pet snake, so Baekhyun vetoed that one immediately. Second, third, and fourth were all university students who tried to talk Baekhyun's price down, so they were turned away as well. The fifth guy turned _him_ down after he saw how small the place was. It's starting to feel like there isn't a single person in Seoul Baekhyun can live with. He never realized how good he had it with Jongdae.

Baekhyun slinks home much later than he'd intended one evening after Sehun insists on a second bedtime story and then a third before he'll lie down and sleep. Jongin's working the late shift and won't be by until midnight or later. Baekhyun thinks about the three voicemails on his phone from prospective roommates that he still hasn't listened to, decides he'll deal with them later, and sacks out on the couch for a nap.

"Found anyone to take over my lease yet?"

Baekhyun cracks open an eye and looks up as Jongdae's face swims into view, upside-down and blurry. "No," he croaks. "Now leave me alone, I'm tired."

"If you weren't up all hours of the night with that new friend of yours—"

"Stop eavesdropping on us," Baekhyun snaps, scrubbing a hand down his face.

"Stop doing whatever it is that makes him make those noises. You're scaring Liyin." Jongdae leans his hip against the arm of the couch. "Aren't you being a little picky about this roommate thing?"

"You think I should live with just anybody?"

"I think you should find someone who can pay the bills and worry about making friends with them later."

Baekhyun scoffs. "Easy for you to say. You don't have to live with whoever it is."

"No, but I've lived with _you_ for this long. My sympathy's with the new guy, whoever that ends up being." He pats Baekhyun on the shoulder. "Maybe you should ask Jongin. That way you guys could have the whole place to yourselves."

"That's so sudden. I can't ask him to just move in out of nowhere," Baekhyun insists, the same thing he's been saying to Hyerim. "We've only been going out for a couple weeks."

"He stays here every night anyway. What's the difference?"

Baekhyun can't think of a good reply, so he tosses a cushion at Jongdae's face instead and hopes that's enough to change the subject.

 

—

 

As much as he'd like to take his time, everything's changing so quickly for Baekhyun. He's having a hard time trying to get his bearings when every day he wakes up and something's a little bit different. The boxes of Jongdae's stuff have started appearing in the living room, and then they're gone just as quickly. The shelf of DVDs is a lot emptier than it was a month ago.

Things at work are just as chaotic. Minseok's leaving soon, too. His last day is rapidly approaching and Junmyeon hasn't made any indication as to what his plans are for the revised work schedule, but nobody new's been hired, so it seems as though it's going to be just the four of them, at least for now. Kyungsoo's other job means he doesn't have a lot of flexibility with his schedule, so it looks like Baekhyun's going to pick up the extra hours until Junmyeon figures out what to do. Which is fine by Baekhyun—honestly, he could really use the money—except he's left wondering what's going to happen after that.

 

—

 

Late one Sunday night Baekhyun spends an entire hour after his shift's supposed to end in the nursery with Sanghyuk, who's cutting another tooth and has been generally unenthusiastic about the whole process. Every time Baekhyun stops walking with him and goes to put him back in the crib, Sanghyuk starts wailing again, so the pacing continues. By the time he finally gets him settled and quiet it's long past ten o'clock and he has to run to catch the bus across town to Princess.

Jongin's still behind the counter. Somebody left early so he's covering until close again. He makes up for the inconvenience with a strong cup of coffee and grills Baekhyun on how the kids are doing today.

"Sehun's discovered his cast makes a pretty nice weapon," Baekhyun says, dumping a packet of sugar in his coffee. Jongin wipes up a few stray crystals from the counter with the pad of his thumb and licks it, eyes trained on Baekhyun's face the entire time. Baekhyun gulps.

"Smart kid."

"Too smart," Baekhyun says, pulling out his phone to distract himself from thinking about doing anything impulsive to Jongin. Or with Jongin. They're in public, after all.

There's another voicemail on it from an unknown number. Probably another inquiry about the apartment.

"Found anyone yet?" Jongin asks, coming around the counter to hook his chin over Baekhyun's shoulder. The cafe's mostly empty at this point—a few straggling college students, an older gentleman in the corner reading a book. Nobody's paying attention to them. Baekhyun shakes his head and turns his face to lean into Jongin's cheek.

"If I can't find somebody soon, I'm going to have to find a smaller place I can afford on my own."

Jongin sneaks a quick kiss from Baekhyun when he's satisfied none of the customers are looking, then takes a seat on the stool next to him. "Aren't you making more money now that you've got more hours?" he asks, stealing a sip of Baekhyun's coffee. Baekhyun swats him away.

"Not nearly enough to cover twice the rent I'm paying now." Baekhyun drops his head onto the counter and bangs it gently a few times. The sound echoes.

"You'll find someone," Jongin says encouragingly, ruffling his hair. "I can ask around at the studio, if you want."

Baekhyun lifts his head. "What about you?" he blurts, and then claps his hand over his mouth.

"What about me?" Jongin sits back. There's an odd expression on his face. Not quite enthusiastic, but not really confused, either. "Baekhyun, are you—uh. Are you asking me to move in with you?"

"I—you could. You already sleep at my place more nights than your own. It's not like much would change," Baekhyun mutters, rubbing the back of his neck. "It was just a crazy idea, I know—it's a little early for that. I just thought—don't worry about it."

Jongin folds his hands together. "No, actually, I—"

"Jongin! You're not on break right now!" Jongin's manager appears through the kitchen door, hands on his hips.

Jongin jerks back from the counter so hard Baekhyun's coffee sloshes over the table. Droplets fly over his phone. Jongin shoves a fistful of napkins at Baekhyun.

"Shit. Sorry. We'll talk about this later, okay?"

Baekhyun nods, half-heartedly mopping at his wet phone. _What did I just do?_ Jongin must notice the stricken look on his face because he glances back over his shoulder to make sure his manager's gone, and then steals another kiss. His mouth's still got a lingering sweetness from the sugar.

"Relax," he says, and smiles so fondly at Baekhyun that Baekhyun feels warm all the way down to his toes.

 

—

 

Baekhyun's completely forgotten it by the time they're stumbling over the threshold of the apartment. Jongin's giggling about something Baekhyun's just said. Baekhyun keeps trying to hush him because Jongdae and Liyin are probably asleep and _they_ don't have the day off tomorrow, but of course his shushing is much louder than Jongin's laughter.

Once the bedroom door's closed, Jongin crawls right on top of Baekhyun, knees straddling Baekhyun's hips, and just stares down at him. His eyes are calm now.

"What?" Baekhyun asks, struggling to crane his neck up to kiss Jongin. Jongin dips forward like he's going to give him what he wants but stops short at the last minute to rest their foreheads together instead.

"Okay," he murmurs.

"Okay what?" Baekhyun asks, hand falling to the button of Jongin's trousers. His breathing is so harsh against Jongin's lips, ripping from his lungs in sharp pants.

Jongin cants his hips forward to make it easier for Baekhyun to push his pants down to his thighs. "I'll move in," he says, and Baekhyun's elbows give out underneath him with the shock of what Jongin's just said.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Jongin says, thumbing at Baekhyun's cheek affectionately, returning the smile. "I realized I feel more at home here after a month than I did at Taemin's. I wasn't supposed to stay there long anyway. I bet he'll appreciate having the place to himself again."

Baekhyun's too overwhelmed to say anything. Instead, he pushes himself back up against the headboard and pulls Jongin's hips to his face, buries his nose in the short, dark curls of Jongin's pubic hair to show his appreciation in a different way. Jongin moans out loud when Baekhyun takes Jongin's cock in his mouth, and then laughs, one hand braced on the wall, the other cradling the back of Baekhyun's head.

"Sorry Jongdae," Jongin whispers after his outburst, flushing guiltily. Baekhyun pulls off with a soft pop and looks up at Jongin's eyes, hazy and affectionate.

"We're going to fuck in the living room the minute it's just the two of us," he promises. "You can be as loud as you want then."

"Can't wait," Jongin says, and then whimpers, struck dumb by Baekhyun's warm, eager mouth.

 

—

 

Baekhyun wakes up the next morning to a cold bed. Not unusual, although usually he wakes up when Jongin's leaving, just long enough to say goodbye before he passes out again. He stretches out over the whole space and debates sleeping in a little longer until he remembers: _Jongin agreed to move in._ He's fully awake then, thrumming with excitement. It barely registers to pull on a pair of sweatpants before he's barreling into the kitchen to catch Jongdae before he leaves for work.

"I did it!" he announces. Jongdae looks up from filling the coffee maker.

"We know. We heard you guys get home last night."

Baekhyun ignores the dig. They'd tried to be quiet—it's not his fault the place has thin walls. And anyway, soon, it's not going to matter at all. Jongdae's going to move out and it's going to be Baekhyun and Jongin, alone with each other at last, free to make all the noise they want without worrying about somebody walking in.

"I found a new roommate."

"So Jongin said yes?"

Baekhyun deflates a little. "Oh. Yeah. How'd you know?"

"There aren't a lot of people you get that excited about." Jongdae smiles. "I'm glad, though. I think that's the best thing for the both of you."

"You don't think it's too fast?" Baekhyun asks, and then sees the laughter in Jongdae's eyes. "Oh, fuck you, you're just glad I found someone so it's not your responsibility anymore."

"You're right," Jongdae cracks, winking at Baekhyun. The coffee maker rumbles to life. "Really what I mean is, I think it's good that you guys are going to live together so nobody _else_ has to live with you."

 

—

 

After breakfast, Baekhyun doesn't really know what to do with himself. He goes down to the hardware store and has a duplicate key made for Jongin as a preemptive thing. He's not officially on the lease yet—but Baekhyun wants him to have one anyway, just in case.

The key is burning a hole in his pocket as soon as he pays for it, so Baekhyun shows up at the dance studio and looks for Jongin. He's not there. He's not in the practice rooms—he's not in the performance hall—he's not even out back smoking with some of the students. He _does_ run into Taemin on his way back through the hallway, who looks confused to see him there.

"Jongin said he was on his way back to your place. Didn't he call you?"

Baekhyun checks his phone. It's still on silent from the night before. He's got four missed calls and half a dozen text messages, all from Jongin. Oops. "I—uh, shit, yeah. He did. Thanks, Taemin."

"No problem." Taemin grins. "It's so cool, right?"

"Yeah. Totally cool," Baekhyun says slowly, scrolling through his text messages from Jongin. _call me!_ , _hey, where are you?_ , _baekhyun are you at work_. "He told you already?"

"Yeah! I was here when it happened."

Baekhyun looks up from his phone screen. "Wait. What are you talking about?"

Taemin raises an eyebrow. "I'm talking about the touring company picking Jongin out of everyone here. What are _you_ talking about?"

Baekhyun feels the bottom drop out of his stomach at the word _touring_ and struggles to get a word out. "I—uh. Nothing. I need to go call him back and congratulate him about the—thing. Thanks, Taemin. I'll catch you later."

Halfway down the steps and he's already dialing Jongin's number. Jongin answers after the first ring.

"There you are." He sounds like he's out of breath. "I went to your place but it was locked up."

Baekhyun thinks to the key in his pocket. Too late, as usual. "My phone was on silent. What's going on?"

A long pause. Jongin sighs loudly. "I—a big shot European choreographer came by today. They're in town doing a production and one of their dancers tore an ACL. They needed someone to cover last-minute."

"Oh, cool," Baekhyun says, genuinely excited at the news. "That's great, though. This is what you've wanted to do all along." Jobs like this mean someday soon Jongin won't have to get up at dawn to busk at the subway stop.

"Yeah," Jongin says. "It's—it's really great. It's just." There's a weird catch in his voice, and Baekhyun feels his heart sink along with his stomach.

"It's just what?" Baekhyun asks. "You've got to go for a while, don't you. I know, I figured as soon as Taemin said it was a touring thing."

"Taemin told you?"

"I went to the school. I—was looking for you." Baekhyun forces himself to sound cheerful. "I'm not going anywhere, Jongin. You know where I am."

"Yeah," Jongin says. "They're—we're—leaving tonight. It's so last-minute—I'm back at my place now, packing." He swallows noisily. His voice is strangely tight, like he's holding back tears. "I'm sorry, though. This means I can't move in with you. Not—not until I get back, maybe. And I don't know when that'll be."

Baekhyun feels sick. Just as quickly as Jongin had come into his life he's _leaving_. He'd figured maybe Jongin would have a few days, that they could move him in first, but if he's leaving tonight then he's right, there's just no time. "I need to see you before you go."

"I know," Jongin says. "I need to see you too. Come over."

 

—

 

Jongdae's sitting on the couch alone when Baekhyun finally pushes open the door and lumbers inside, completely zombified. He'd hoped Jongdae would be out—somewhere, anywhere but right here in the living room. "Where have you been all day?" Jongdae asks. "I figured I'd come home and hang out with you tonight since Liyin's got a dinner thing to go to for work."

"I—uh, out."

He'd gotten to Jongin's in record time. Jongin'd been waiting for him, eyes rimmed red, nose running. Baekhyun wanted to congratulate him but couldn't find the words, so he just ended up tackling him back into that shitty mattress, kissing him to make up for all the time they were going to miss.

Later, when it was time to go, he'd walked him to the subway and slipped the key into his hand as his way of saying _you've got a place to come back to_ and watched as the doors opened and Jongin disappeared inside the crush of bodies, waving, until the train hurtled away from the platform. Baekhyun'd stood there for a long time after that, just watching, waiting.

"Where's Jongin?"

Baekhyun looks at the time on his phone. "Probably on the plane right now."

"The—what? What Plane?"

Baekhyun sits on the other end of the couch and tells Jongdae everything from the beginning. Jongdae's got enough to sense that doesn't make a single joke about Baekhyun scaring Jongin away, and by the time Baekhyun's finished recounting the whole story they're sitting side by side on the couch and Jongdae's got his arm hooked around Baekhyun's neck, pulling him in close for a hug.

"I'll cover the rent until you find someone else or until he comes back," Jongdae says. "I'm really sorry, Baekhyun."

Baekhyun shrugs. "I am, too, but it's not like I can be that mad. He's just doing what's good for his career."

"He'll be back, right? You said he's coming back."

Baekhyun swallows hard and tries to look optimistic. Jongin'd said he's going to be gone for nearly two months—a lot can change in two months. Still. It's only two months. "That's the plan, yeah."

 

—

 

**Six Weeks Later**

 

Morning, again. Baekhyun's up before Jongdae and has the coffee waiting for him when Jongdae finally slumps in, dressed and ready for work. The wedding's fast-approaching and Jongdae seems to be burning the candle at both ends, what with holding down his job and trying to finish the renovations on the house himself so he and Liyin can move in.

"How's Jongin doing?" Jongdae asks lightly, fiddling with his cufflinks. "Did you talk to him last night? I heard you on the phone when I got in."

Baekhyun shrugs. He's easy to figure out these days. He's always on the phone with Jongin. "Good. They're working hard. He's somewhere in Germany, I think. Last he said, anyway."

"When's he coming home?" Jongdae asks. He asks the same thing every morning. Baekhyun's always got the same answer for him.

Baekhyun's chest tightens. "I don't know. He hasn't said for sure, yet."

"Soon, though."

"End of the month at the latest," Baekhyun says. Even though it's been narrowed down to a two week-window, it's driving him crazy not knowing, not having a date set in stone to look forward to.

Jongdae claps him on the shoulder. "The worst is over. And hey—he'll be back in time for the wedding, so I won't have to deal with you moping and getting drunk and sleeping with one of Liyin's cousins."

Baekhyun snorts and flops on the couch. "I'm not moping."

"That's what you're choosing to fixate on?" Jongdae tugs at his sleeve to adjust it. "Oh, by the way. I hope you don't mind. Since we're planning on being in the house by this weekend, I found someone to take over the apartment lease."

"Oh." Baekhyun's overwhelmed by a sudden pang of sadness that it's not going to be Jongin after all. He'd been holding out hope that maybe Jongin would be back in time. "Okay," he says finally. "You're sure he's not a serial killer or anything?"

"I think you'll be happy with them."

"Them?" Baekhyun wrinkles his nose. "You signed the lease over to a couple?"

Jongdae smiles one of those annoying all-knowing Mona Lisa smiles of his. "Not exactly."

The knock at the door interrupts Jongdae from explaining further. He checks his watch. "Right on time." He flashes Baekhyun a cheeky grin and gets to his feet. Bewildered, Baekhyun kneels up on the couch, arms draped over the back, trying to stay casual.

In a million years, he never would have expected to see Taemin at his front door first thing in the morning with a box propped up on one hip. "That's—probably for me," he says, assuming he's brought something he'd left behind at Jongin's, and then trails off, because Taemin's shaking _Jongdae's_ hand, and Jongdae's dropping a key ring into Taemin's outstretched palm... "I—wait. What. Taemin's—what?"

Taemin beams. "It was Jongin's idea. He said you guys were going to have a spare bedroom anyway." He wiggles his eyebrows so dramatically that even Jongdae starts cackling.

Baekhyun nearly flips over the back of the couch in his excitement. He shouldn't have doubted Jongin. He'd told Baekhyun he'd figure something out and he did.

"Jongin arranged the whole thing," Jongdae confesses, laughter twinkling in his eyes as he offers to help Baekhyun back on his feet. "He says you've already give him his key, so. Hope this arrangement works out for you, and I'm sorry in advance about all the noise, Taemin."

"Yeah, nothing I can't handle," Taemin says, setting his box down next to the couch. "I've got a good pair of earplugs. Look, I've gotta run or I'll be late. Can I leave this here?"

"No problem," Jongdae says, waving him off as he dashes back out the door. "Thanks, Taemin." He's still looking smug when Baekhyun gets around to looking back at him.

"You _asshole_ , you could've told me!" Baekhyun yelps, grabbing Jongdae by the neck.

"But where would the fun have been in doing it that way?" Jongdae asks. "Ow, ow. You're hurting me. Ow. Stop. Let go."

"Hush," Baekhyun says, nuzzling Jongdae's face until he starts squirming. "You love me and you can't even deny it."

"I don't! I deny it! I can't wait to move out!"

"Shh," Baekhyun says and hugs him so hard he feels Jongdae's ribs creak. Jongdae claws at Baekhyun's arms, gasping that he can't breathe, which just makes Baekhyun tighten his grip even more.

 

—

 

Today it's Baekhyun's turn to work in the nursery. Sanghyuk's been pulling himself up the bars of his crib, trying to stand on his own. He's still a little wobbly, but he's made some progress since last week and has gotten pretty good at using whatever's nearby to pull himself to his feet. He just needs to take that next step. Baekhyun sets him down on the floor anyway next to a toy box and crawls just out of arm's reach.

"Come on, buddy," Baekhyun says, holding out his hands and clapping a few times to get Sanghyuk's attention. "You can do it."

"What's he doing?" comes Sehun's voice from the door frame. "Can he walk yet?" Baekhyun looks up at the sudden disruption.

"You're supposed to be practicing the alphabet with Kyungsoo, Sehun. Does he know you wandered off?"

"I had to go to the bathroom." He shuffles into view. His wrist has finally healed, his arm newly-freed from the restrictive cast. It's still looking a little limp, but the muscle tone will come back soon enough.

"This isn't the bathroom," Baekhyun says gently. "Come on, let's get you back."

"But I want to help Sanghyuk."

Baekhyun looks at his watch. Kyungsoo's going to be finishing up the lesson soon, but he can probably justify keeping Sehun for a minute or two before anyone comes looking for him.

"Alright," he relents. "Come sit next to me."

Sehun bounds in and clatters to the floor to sit up on his knees, spine stiff as a rod, like he's trying his best to behave. Sanghyuk watches Sehun curiously and breaks into a wide, sunny grin when Sehun pulls a silly face at him.

"He likes you," Baekhyun tells him. In the next moment, Sanghyuk's swinging himself up on the toy box, eyes wide with astonishment at what his body's doing. Baekhyun feels his expression's probably similar. He's been around long enough to see the first steps of half a dozen babies here at the orphanage, including Sehun's, and it never stops being one of the coolest things he's ever witnessed, every single time.

"He's moving!" Sehun says, wriggling excitedly. Baekhyun sticks an arm across his chest to stop him from getting up.

"Let him try. Look."

Sanghyuk's frowning in concentration, trying to work out how to move his foot forward without toppling over. He looks like he's _almost_ got the idea. Baekhyun pulls his phone out of his pocket and turns on the video camera. He catches the smile that splits Sanghyuk's face in half, the excited squeal as he takes one shaky step, and then another, and a third and a fourth before he deposits himself in Sehun's lap.

"Sah," he coos, burying his face into Sehun's thigh. Sehun picks him up—awkwardly, like he's afraid he's going to break him—and hugs him.

"He came to me. Hyung, did you see that? He walked to me!"

"I saw," Baekhyun says, already texting the video to Kyungsoo and Minseok, then Junmyeon and Hyerim. He pauses for a moment and then texts it off to Jongin, too, with a big smiley face. _Sanghyukkie's first steps. Look what you're missing!_

 

—

 

Hyerim corners him later in the laundry room as he's trying to fold the towels. "I got your video," she says, waving her phone at him and then clutching it to her bosom. "He's growing up so fast. My baby."

Baekhyun nods. "Pretty soon he'll be getting into trouble with Sehun. Hope you're ready. He's going to be a handful."

"I think we've still got Sehun's leash around here somewhere. We're ready for him." Hyerim laughs. "You seem happier than you have the past few weeks," she says. "Jongin's home?"

"Not yet," Baekhyun says, fishing around in the dryer and retrieving a handful of washcloths.

"But he's going to be soon."

"Yeah. Two weeks."

"Another two weeks? It feels like he's been gone forever. I miss seeing him around the kitchen at dinner time," Hyerim says. Baekhyun does too, but it's not just limited to missing him in the kitchen. Baekhyun misses seeing him everywhere.

"Anyway," Baekhyun continues, pushing that thought out of his head, "we worked out an arrangement that solved my roommate issue, too. His roommate moved in with me, and Jongin'll move in too when he gets back from Europe. Whenever that may be."

"That's great!" Hyerim enthuses. "So in the end, everyone gets what they want."

"Yeah," Baekhyun agrees. "When you put it that way, definitely."

"Two weeks will fly by." Hyerim reaches in the dryer after him and pulls out another bath towel to fold against her chest. "Junmyeon's really proud of the way you've stepped up since Minseok left, you know."

"Yeah?" Baekhyun says noncommittally. "I told you guys, I like being here. It's really not a problem for me."

"You should ask him about making it more permanent."

Baekhyun shrugs. "I'm happy with the way things are."

"We are too." Hyerim looks at him fondly, backing out of the room. "That's why I'm telling you—talk to him."

 

—

 

Baekhyun doesn't have to go looking for Junmyeon to talk to him. Instead, Junmyeon corners him in the kitchen during lunch preparations. "I heard your roommate problem's been solved."

"News travels fast."

"It does indeed." To underscore his point, Junmyeon holds up his phone. There's a screenshot of Sanghyuk on his feet set as the wallpaper. Baekhyun smiles.

"Cute. The other kids are going to get jealous."

"The other kids aren't going to be touching my phone," Junmyeon says, tucking it back in his pocket. "Anyway, I heard you talked to Hyerim earlier."

Baekhyun nods and turns away to pull a mixing bowl out of the cabinet.

"I'd love to hire you on full-time, Baekhyun," Junmyeon says, "but—"

"But I'm not certified. I know." Baekhyun tosses a kitchen rag over his shoulder and crosses past Junmyeon to go to the refrigerator. He's stopped dead in his tracks by Junmyeon's thin fingers wrapped around his wrist.

"Let me finish." A stern look comes into Junmyeon's eyes, the same one he gets when the kids are talking during their nap time. It's just as effective on Baekhyun even though he's got twenty years on most of the residents here. "But I'm willing to wait until you go back to school and get certified."

Hyerim appears at the doorway, watching silently as Baekhyun struggles to hold back a grin. "Really?"

"I'll bring on another college volunteer to pick up the slack while you're in classes," Junmyeon says. "As long as _they_ don't want to stay on permanently, you'll have a job waiting for you once you've finished."

Baekhyun looks back at Hyerim, who's smiling at him. "If you want, of course," she says. "Unless you've got plans to run away to Europe. I'm sure Sehun wouldn't mind if you were around more often."

"You've got a deal. I'll work hard, hyung, I promise," Baekhyun says, shaking Junmyeon's hand so hard he nearly yanks his arm clean off.

 

—

 

"So when's Jongin-hyung coming home?" Sehun demands on their way back from the playground. He's waving around his arms, snatching at Baekhyun's hand only to drop it again. "My wrist's all better. He promised he was going to teach me how to dance."

"He said he'd be home soon," Baekhyun says, taking a fresh grip on Sehun's wrist to pull him back in step with the rest of the children. "Watch out. You need to look both ways before you cross the street, Sehun."

Sehun sighs impatiently and goes through the motions of turning his head, although whether he was actually focusing on the traffic is anyone's guess. "When's soon? He's been gone _forever_."

"He said he'd come back if you promised to go to sleep on time every night for two weeks."

"You're lying," Sehun accuses.

"Lying? Me? To you? Never." Baekhyun raises his eyebrows. "He calls me every day and asks, _'Did Sehun go to sleep like a good boy last night so I can come back?'_ and I have to tell him no. He's very disappointed. He wants to come home."

Sehun eyes him skeptically. "Hyung. Did he really say that?"

"He really did," Baekhyun says, keeping his expression solemn. "I promise."

"Fine. I can go to bed right now!" Sehun says, taking off at a sprint down the sidewalk, hands outstretched in front of him. It's all Baekhyun can do to catch up to him and bring him back to walk slowly with the rest of the group.

 

—

 

He calls Jongin later to tell him about his good news and gets his voicemail instead, but he finds he doesn't care as much as he usually does when he hears the _Hi, I'm not here right now_ in Jongin's buttery voice. "Hey," he says as soon as it beeps, his own voice rough and crackling with exhaustion. "I'm probably not going to be awake when you call but I promised Sehun I'd tell you he said hi, so I'm doing that."

He pauses, listening to Jongdae shuffling around out in the kitchen, opening and closing drawers. Probably making himself a late-night snack. Baekhyun hopes he's not going to burn down the building or anything. "What else happened today? Oh. Junmyeon's going to hold a job for me if I get certified. So—I'll probably be doing that by the time you get back." Another long pause. "Going back to school's going to _suck_ , but it'll be worth it."

Baekhyun rolls over onto Jongin's side of the bed and curls up against Jongin's pillow. "Taemin said he talked to you earlier and that you said your show's doing well. So I'm glad. Not that there was a doubt in my mind." He yawns. "Alright." He hesitates for a moment, struggling to decide whether or not he should say this last thing. Finally, he switches ears and blurts out, "Come home. I miss you," before he can change his mind and chicken out, then hangs up.

A moment later his phone chimes. _i'm in rehearsal :( is everything okay that was a long voicemail_

Baekhyun's in the middle of typing out another message when his phone chimes again, a picture message this time. He opens it. A fuzzy snapshot of Jongin's hand. He's got the key Baekhyun made him looped on his index finger. _soon!_ it says.

_too late. i'm living w/ taemin now. we changed the locks_

Jongin sends back a long string of angry faces, followed by _shit g2g director's watching me i'll call later_

The bed's warm and the pillow still smells faintly of Jongin. It's faded a little bit in the weeks since he left, but it hasn't gone completely yet. Baekhyun pulls it closer to his chest anyway, clutching his phone in one hand, and hopes that he'll wake up when Jongin calls. It's really not a big deal if he sleeps through it, though—they've got two weeks of this left, and then all the time in the world after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally written for kaibaek exchange perfectedart@lj 2014.

**Author's Note:**

> originally written for kaibaek exchange perfectedart@lj 2014.


End file.
